Manchester City v Leicester City: live stream, TV details, how to watch, injury news & predicted line-ups

Manchester City will look to remain at the top of the table on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Leicester City to the Etihad Stadium.
Aymeric Laporte of Manchester CityAymeric Laporte of Manchester City
Aymeric Laporte of Manchester City

Manchester City will be chasing a ninth consecutive win in the Premier League when they face Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The match, which kicks-off at 3pm, will see City try and remain in top-spot after maintaining that position before Christmas.

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Pep Guardiola’s side are in fine league form, having won 14 of their 18 games so far, including a 4-0 victory against Newcastle United last weekend. The Sky Blues had four different goalscorers, including Joao Cancelo, who grabbed a goal and an assist.

Joao Cancelo of Manchester City Credit: GettyJoao Cancelo of Manchester City Credit: Getty
Joao Cancelo of Manchester City Credit: Getty

As for Leicester, their form has been hit and miss compared to their opponents on Sunday, having won four of their last 10 league games. The Foxes were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, losing 5-4 on penalties to Liverpool.

The sides head into the game 22 points apart in the league, with City top of the table by three points, while Leicester sit ninth and have matches in hand to some teams above them.

Overall, the Manunian club has the better record when coming face to face in England’s top-flight. Of the 21 meetings in the competition, City have won 12 of them, while the Foxes have been victorious seven times and honours have been even on two occasions.

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The two teams’ previous meeting in September ended in a 1-0 win for Guardiola’s side at the King Power Stadium. Bernardo Silva’s 62nd-minute goal was enough for the Sky Blues to seal all three points.

What’s the latest team news?

City’s victory against Newcastle saw the return to the starting 11 for Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling. The trio replaced John Stones, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, who dropped to the bench.

The reason for Foden and Grealish being dropped from the starting 11 was unofficially due to their behaviour off the pitch, with Foden and Grealish being pictured at a nightclub last week.

Jack Grealish was dropped for the last game  Credit: GettyJack Grealish was dropped for the last game  Credit: Getty
Jack Grealish was dropped for the last game Credit: Getty

Ferran Torres, who suffered a foot injury on international duty with Spain in October, remains unavailable. The forward is still some time off being fully fit and could’ve played his last game for the Sky Blues, with the club accepting a bid from Barcelona for the 21-year-old, according to reports this week.

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City’s squad has strength in depth and Guardiola has several options to replace Torres on Sunday.

Guardiola’s fluidity in his style of play allows for either of his favoured 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation to be used against Leicester. The former, which was used against Newcastle, saw a five-man midfield made up of Rodri and Silva as a pairing, while Riyad Mahrez and Sterling occupied each wing, and De Bruyne sat as a number 10.

The visitors have several players unavailable for the Boxing Day clash, with James Justin, Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans all out through injury. Hamza Choudhury and Filip Benkovic missed the last game through illness.

Jonny Evans is out for Leicester City Credit: GettyJonny Evans is out for Leicester City Credit: Getty
Jonny Evans is out for Leicester City Credit: Getty

With the Foxes’ defence heavily depleted, Wilfred Ndidi was forced to drop into the centre-back role against Liverpool.

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Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu were substituted in the Carabao Cup fixture as both appeared to sustain injuries.

Predicted line-ups

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling; Jesus.

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Castagne, Ndidi, Vestergaard, Thomas; Tielemans, Soumare; Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Daka; Vardy.

Is the match on TV?

The match won’t be shown live in the UK due to the rules surrounding 3pm kick-offs where a broadcast black-out takes place.

How can I watch highlights?

Both City and Leicester’s websites will have the highlights after the game ends.

As usual, Match of the Day will show all of the highlights with Saturday’s action at 10.40pm on BBC One.