Leicester City v Manchester City
Tuesday 18th December 1945hrs
Football – England – League Cup
Pick: Under 2.5 goals
Bookmaker: Marathon Bet
Odds: 6/4 (odds taken 21.40 GMT, Monday 17 December)
League Cup Betting at Marathon Bet
It will be one day out from being exactly a year since these two teams met at the same stage of last season’s League Cup with Manchester City edging it on penalties en route to winning the competition. That experience will mean the current holders will not be taking anything for granted when they make the same trip on Tuesday, whilst it’s a performance and effort that will surely breed confidence for the hosts and their supporters. Continue reading for a match preview of Leicester City against Manchester City with a selected best betting tip.
Leicester City Prediction
Claude Puel has not been managing in England for long but he has already built up plenty of memories in the League Cup. He led his Southampton team to Wembley in the final back in 2017, only to lose out narrowly against the other Manchester Club, United, in what was one of the best finals of recent times. He also came within a penalty or two of knocking out the best team in England, and that should whet his appetite for more success in the League Cup when that same opponent comes calling tomorrow. The Foxes have certainly had plenty of practice should it go to penalties again having required spot kicks to knockout a pair of Premier League clubs in Wolves and Southampton in the previous two rounds. Interestingly, both of those games finished goalless after extra time and Puel will be aware that his team will require an excellent defensive display to be victorious against City. With everything that has gone on at Leicester this season then few would begrudge them a win against City – other than the holders and Premier League champions themselves.
Manchester City Prediction
His first campaign in England ended up being a barren one but since then it’s been productive for Pep Guardiola, as you would expect. The League Cup will forever hold a special place in his heart as it was the first trophy he won in England and you can guarantee he’ll be doing his utmost to retain it. As was his approach last season, there has been plenty of squad rotation in this year’s defence but considering the depth of quality in the City squad, Guardiola can make virtually a full team of changes and it barely disrupts how good they are. Due to their competing in Europe it’s just been the two games to get to this stage and they have been the proverbial strolls in the park. A 3-0 win away to Oxford was their first taste of League Cup action since thrashing Arsenal in the final back in February, and they followed that up with a 2-0 win at home to Premier League strugglers Fulham in the previous round. It’s very likely that Tuesday’s trip to Leicester will be a much sterner test for Guardiola and his players and whether it’s in the regulation 90, extra time or requiring penalties again, the only important thing for Guardiola will be being in the draw for the semi-final.
Leicester City v Manchester City Betting Advice
This will be the first of two meetings between Leicester and Man City in the space of eight days as Guardiola’s men will make the same trip on Boxing Day, that day for Premier League points. When teams face off against each other so close together it can add to the rivalry between them and Leicester will also have that painful defeat on penalties in last season’s League Cup firmly etched on their minds. There’s also not going to be any danger of Guardiola favouring league points over a win in this quarter final as his drive to win is such that only two victories will be acceptable.
As is always the case for Premier League teams in the League Cup, we will expect to see their big squads utilised and it often involves some guesswork as to what the starting line-ups will be. Their resources are such though that there will be a lot of quality on show. Leicester will need to approach the game in a similar way to they done 12 months ago, making it difficult for the visitors to get a rhythm going. Puel can certainly set teams up to frustrate and I’m going to go against the grain here by selecting under 2.5 goals. Following a deluge of goals in their opening games at home, Leicester’s last five have ended with two or fewer at home. Four of the last five meetings between these two at the King Power Stadium have also went below under 2.5.
