Manchester City’s relentless title pursuit continues against Leicester City
The top club football competitions across Europe make a return this weekend following a break for the first three rounds of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Event # 1 – EPL – Leicester vs Manchester City – 11:30 am
Leicester City welcome Manchester City to the King Power Stadium on Saturday (April 3) as they continue their assault for a top-four spot.
Leicester fans can be forgiven for worrying that might falter down the stretch in their top-four battle just as they did last season, but that doesn’t appear to be happening right now as they have been on a consistent run of form in recent times.
The Foxes, Leicester, are high on confidence entering this game following their impressive 3-1 FA Cup dismantling of Manchester United before the break. The Foxes will also have fond memories of playing against Manchester City, as when both sides met earlier this season the Foxes attacked the Citizens (Man City) from the start, biting them five times for a commanding 5-2 win.
Manchester City resume their quest for an unprecedented quadruple this season as they travel to the King Power Stadium with revenge on their minds. Pep Guardiola and his troops isn’t the type of side that will forget a 5-2 drubbing, so Leicester can expect a backlash from the soon to be Premier League Champions. City head into this game 15 points clear of Leicester after cruising past Fulham 3-0 in their last League game.
The Citizens then went on to claim 2-0 wins over M’Gladbach in the Champions League and Arsenal in the FA Cup. Having rattled up 25 wins from their last 26 matches, City’s dominance should be on display with another straightforward win.
KEY STATS
• Leicester – are looking to complete their first league double over Manchester City since the 1986-87 season, following their 5-2 win at the Etihad earlier this season.
• Man City – have won their last 14 away games in all competitions, extending the all-time record among teams in England’s top four tiers. The Citizens have also kept more clean sheets (27) and conceded fewer goals (26) in all competitions among all teams in Europe’s top five leagues.
• Both sides – Manchester City have alternated between defeat (2) and victory (2) in their last four Premier League away games against Leicester, winning this exact fixture 1-0 last season.
The betting tip. Manchester City win.
Event # 2 EPL – Arsenal vs Liverpool – 2:00 pm
Arsenal host soon-to-be-deposed champions Liverpool to the Emirates on Saturday (April 3) and can move to within one points of the Reds with a home win.
Back in December Liverpool hammered Wolves 4-0 to go joint top of the League while Arsenal were being dismantled 0-2 by Spurs to drop to just three spots above the relegation zone.
Fast forward a few months, and the Gunners, Arsenal, have lost just once in the Premier League and that was at home to the champions-elect Manchester City.
Arsenal head into this match following a thrilling 3-3 draw with West Ham in their last game coming from three goals down. However, they will be wary of the Reds as when both sides met earlier this season, Liverpool dispatched them with minimum fuss, but the Gunners will be aiming to heap more misery on the Reds with another home win.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will be aiming to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive with a win against an Arsenal side they defeated the last time they met. Back in December, Liverpool were joint top of the league after beating Wolves, since then their form has taken a nose-dive, and they are now fighting to secure a top four spot, which at this time appears unlikely.
Liverpool have shown some sort of recovery recently with back-to-back wins over RB Leipzig in the Champions League and Wolves in the Premier League, and they will travel to the Emirates with their hopes up, following back-to-back away wins in their last two matches.
KEY STATS
• Arsenal – won this exact fixture 2-1 last season and are looking to beat Liverpool in consecutive home league games for the first time since April 2015.
• Liverpool – have won just two of their last 20 Premier League away games against Arsenal (D9 L9), winning 2-0 in August 2011 and 4-3 in August 2016.
• Both sides – no fixture in Premier League history has seen more goals scored than Arsenal vs Liverpool (166). 94 of these goals have been scored by Liverpool, the most goals the Gunners have shipped against a single opponent in the competition.
The betting tip. Draw.