Football
Manchester United vs Leicester Preview, Prediction, Team News and Predicted Lineups
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished07 Feb 2025
Leicester face off against Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included alongside a prediction in our match preview.
Manchester United vs Leicester Preview
Looking to bounce back after a bitterly disappointing 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League last weekend, Manchester United host relegation strugglers Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday evening.
The Red Devils had won three in succession prior to their defeat to the Eagles, beating both Rangers and FCSB in the Europa League league phase, with a 1-0 win over Fulham in the English top-flight sandwiched in between.
To book their place in the fourth round, United overcame Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal in the third round. The pair played out a 1-1 stalemate in regular time, and the reigning champions prevailed 5-3 in a penalty shootout.
As for Leicester, who occupy 18th place in the Premier League table, they come into this one off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Everton. That loss followed a 2-1 win over Tottenham in Gameweek 23 – the Foxes’ first league victory in nine matches.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side comfortably advanced to the fourth round thanks to a 6-2 victory over QPR, in which James Justin netted twice, along with goals from Stephy Mavididi, Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy and Wout Faes.
Friday’s clash will be the third time that Leicester and United have faced off this term, with the Red Devils coming out on top on both occasions. Their first meeting, a Carabao Cup fourth round matchup, ended 5-2 in favour of Manchester United, followed by a 3-0 league victory less than two weeks later.
Manchester United Team News
Ruben Amorim was dealt a major blow in the defeat to Palace last time out, as Lisandro Martinez suffered what has now been confirmed as an ACL injury, ruling the Argentine defender out for the remainder of the campaign.
He joins Luke Shaw (calf), Jonny Evans (lower back) and Mason Mount (thigh) on the sidelines, while Tyrell Malacia and Marcus Rashford have departed the club on loan, and left-back Patrick Dorgu has joined from Serie A side Lecce.
Leicester Team News
The Foxes remain without Ricardo Pereira (thigh) and long-term absentee Abdul Fatawu (knee), while Wilfred Ndidi is also expected to miss out despite edging closer to a return from a thigh injury.
First-choice goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made his return to the lineup against Everton last time out, and it’s likely to be between him and Jakub Stolarczyk to start in between the sticks this time around.
Manchester United vs Leicester Predicted Lineups
Manchester United Predicted Lineup:
Bayindir; Mazraoui, Maguire, De Ligt; Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dorgu; Amad, Hojlund, Fernandes
Leicester Predicted Lineup:
Stolarczyk; Coulibaly, Coady, Okoli, Kristiansen; Soumare, Skipp; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Daka
Manchester United vs Leicester Prediction
The UK’s best football betting sites heavily favour Manchester United to win in 90 minutes on Friday at around 1/3, while a draw is valued at 19/4 and an upset victory for the visitors is priced at around 13/2.
We at SportsCasting agree with the bookmakers’ assessment and are backing the Red Devils to claim a comfortable victory over the Foxes at Old Trafford, as they have already done on two occasions this term.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Leicester