Manchester United Vs. Leicester City Prediction: Red Devils Target Third Victory Over The Foxes

Amad Diallo, aiming for the FA Cup semifinals with Manchester Unied (photo: x @ManUtd ·)

JAKARTA - Manchester United will host Leicester City at Old Trafford in their FA Cup fourth round match on Friday night, February 7. This match is a tough test for Ruben Amorim, who had to improve his team's poor record at home after recording his worst form in 131 years.

The 0-2 defeat to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford last weekend adds to Manchester United's poor record, which has now experienced the worst home performance since the 19th century. Even though it has brought United to a big win at Manchester City and Arsenal's headquarters in the previous round, the Red Devils have struggled to face teams like Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Crystal Palace, who all managed to win at the Theater of Dreams.

Manchester United are still stuck at the bottom of the Premier League standings, ranking 13th with just three points from Everton in 16th place. With this situation, the only way for them to return to European competition is most likely only through the FA Cup and Europa League lines.

However, this match could be a golden opportunity for United. They had an impressive record in the FA Cup when they played at home, unbeaten in their last 18 games at Old Trafford in normal time, winning 16 of them. Arsenal is the last team to successfully beat them at Old Trafford in this competition in the 2014-15 season.

Leicester City itself became quite a familiar opponent for United this season. They have met twice before, with Manchester United winning 5-2 and 3-0 in the EFL Cup and Premier League. Interestingly, the current Leicester coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy, was the person in charge of the two victories when he was interim coach Manchester United before taking over Leicester.

This opens up opportunities for Manchester United to make new history, which is to beat the same team three times in one season at Old Trafford for the first time. However, Leicester have fond memories of the FA Cup against United, as they beat the Red Devils in the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 season on their way to the title.

Last season, Leicester were eliminated in the quarter-finals as a Championship team after being beaten by Chelsea. However, their performance this season is much worse than last season. The Foxes are currently experiencing a crisis, with just one win in their last nine Premier League games.

Everton's 0-4 defeat at Goodison Park last week exacerbated their situation. The result also made Everton nine points away from Leicester in the hunt for the safe zone. With Wolverhampton Wanderers also winning over Aston Villa, Leicester is now back into the relegation zone.

This condition makes Van Nistelrooy's task even more difficult, especially because there were no significant additional players brought in in the transfer market last January.

Manchester United lost Marcus Rashford, who left at the end of the January transfer window. Alejandro Garnacho remained, but Amorim did not get a new striker, although he had been experimenting with playing Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine in the previous match.

On the back, United were hit hard after Leandro Martinez suffered an ACL injury against Crystal Palace, which saw him have to end the season sooner. In addition, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans, and Mason Mount are also still sidelined due to injury. How come Malacia has also been loaned out to PSV Eindhoven.

However, there is good news for United with the arrival of Patrick Dorgu, who is likely to make his debut in this match. In addition, Altay Bayindir is expected to replace Andre Onana under the bar after appearing impressive in winning against Arsenal in the third round.

Meanwhile, in the Leicester City camp, Mads goalkeeper Hermansen just returned from a long injury last week. However, he has not appeared in the cup competition this season, so Jakub Stolarczyk has the opportunity to appear as a starter.

Wilfred Ndidi is getting closer to returning to playing after suffering a thigh injury, but Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu are still absent in the long term. With Leicester's poor performance at Goodison Park, Van Nistelrooy may make major changes, including lowering Facundo Buonanotte andmanfaaty Mavidi in the wing sector and holding Jannik Vestergaard on the back.

Manchester United have a much better record than Leicester in the previous meeting of this season. Coupled with the pressure to improve the bad record at Old Trafford, Amorim is predicted to field his best team to ensure victory.

On the other hand, Leicester are in a difficult condition and are struggling to get out of the relegation zone, which could make them more focused on the Premier League than the FA Cup. With the various problems they face, it's hard to see Leicester give a surprise in this match.

Manchester United: Bayindir; Mazraoui, Maguire, De Ligt; Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dorgu; Amad, Hojlund, Fernandes

Leicester City: Tolarczyk; Coulibaly, Coady, Okoli, Kristiansen; Soumare, Skipp; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Daka

Score prediction: Manchester United 3-1 Leicester City