Manchester United will kick-off their 2018/19 Premier League campaign against 2016 champions Leicester City at Old Trafford this Friday.
Both teams will be looking to eclipse their performances from last season despite enjoying a rather satisfying campaign. United finished second behind defending champions Manchester City while Leicester managed an extraordinary comeback under Claude Puel to finish the season in the mid-table spot.
However, the Foxes have lost star player Riyad Mahrez earlier this summer and it will be interesting to see how they cope without the services of their Algerian superstar this week. They have already signed another Algerian in the shape of Rachid Ghezzal in a bid to replace Mahrez.
But will he be able to start on Friday?
PREDICTED LEICESTER CITY LINEUP VS MANCHESTER UNITED
Defence
Kasper Schmeichel will take his place between the sticks for Leicester City. The Danish international is coming on the back of an excellent World Cup and will be keen to make a positive start to the season.
Puel might face a huge dilemma in defence with both Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans being deemed doubtful. While the Frenchman has already confirmed Maguire won’t start on Friday, we could also expect Evans, who picked up an injury during pre-season, to miss out facing his former club.
This might pave the way for the veteran duo of Wes Morgan and Yohan Benalouane to start in central defence. New signing Ricardo Pereira is expected to feature, however. He will be deployed in his preferred right-back spot with Ben Chillwell starting on the opposite flank.
Midfield
Considering Manchester United’s sheer quality in midfield, Puel might opt for the experienced Vicente Iborra to start at the base of the 4-2-3-1 formation. He will be partnered by Nigerian international Wilfred Ndidi.
Ndidi’s tenacity and work-ethic will be important in nullifying the United midfielders in the middle third though a lot will depend on how Iborra manages to complement him in midfield. The young Hamza Choudhury might also play a key role in the second half.
Attack
Leicester City will be without the services of their talismanic striker Jamie Vardy. Thus, the onus will be on Kelechi Iheanacho to spearhead their attack.
The former Manchester City whizkid has been in fiery form during the pre-season matches and it will be interesting to see if he can ably replace Vardy this week.
Iheanacho will be partnered by the trio of Marc Albrighton, James Maddison and Fousseni Diabate in the attack. Although Maddison is also deemed to be doubtful, we can expect the former Norwich starlet to become fit for the clash.
New signing Rachid Ghezzal might have to settle for a place on the bench after arriving at the club earlier this week. He might feature late in the second half, however.
