Manchester City will travel to the King Power stadium seeking revenge for last year’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Leicester City. But the two teams meet under very different circumstances this time around with Leicester struggling big time to cope up with the tag of being the defending Champions. They are 16th in the table with a single point separating them from the 18th placed Sunderland. And the solid European form which was the sole bright spot in their season so far was rudely ended after a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Porto.
And City, after a strange 1-3 loss against Chelsea last weekend will also be looking for redemption and it makes for a good battle between the two teams looking for a morale boost.
Let us take a brief look at 3 battles which can decide the outcome of the game.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE VS DANNY SIMPSON
The Belgian has been in exquisite form this season and has also been hailed in many quarters as the best midfielder in the League at this moment. While he is up there, De Bruyne will look to back up these claims of others by giving a top-class performance. Although he was initially played in the advanced No.8 position alongside Silva, he might be pushed out wide tomorrow. Danny Simpson will have quite a task on his hands. The Leicester man hasn’t found his best form yet, quite similar to the rest of the team, and will be in for a difficult afternoon against City.
RIYAD MAHREZ VS ALEKS KOLAROV
It is a fact that the Algerian is yet to reach anywhere near the dizzying heights of last season but City or anyone else can’t get too cocky while facing up to him. He still possesses the ability to single-handedly carve open a defence, as City very well know from their personal experience of last season.
He is likely to be squaring up to Kolarov, who has had a mini-renaissance of his own. While he hasn’t continued the early season form, he is looking like a better bet than Clichy at this moment.
FERNANDO VS SHINJI OKAZAKI
The Brazilian holding midfielder will be replacing his countryman in front of the defence after Fernandinho saw a straight red for an attempted chokeslam on wily Fabregas. He will look to impress the manager and with chances few and far in between, this period provides the perfect opportunity to do so.
With games against Arsenal and Liverpool coming up, a win is paramount here. Okazaki might be selected for his industry and clever use of space between the defence and midfield and Fernando has to be alert and keep track of the Leicester attacker.
