Man City vs Leicester: Premier League preview, team news, stats, predictions, kick-off time | Football News

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Man City vs Leicester in the Premier League on Boxing Day; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Manchester City duo Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could return against Leicester on Boxing Day.

The England pair were left on the bench at Newcastle last week after an apparent disciplinary issue.

Kyle Walker will hope to return after a fitness issue while Ferran Torres, currently sidelined with a broken foot, looks to have played his final game for the club as he nears a move to Barcelona.

Leicester will make late assessments on a number of players before the trip to the Etihad.

Striker Jamie Vardy played the last 20 minutes of their midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool with a tight hamstring, a game in which right-back Ricardo Pereira (shin) and centre-half Caglar Soyuncu (hamstring) were both forced off with problems.

Full-back Timothy Castagne has returned to training having missed the trip to Anfield but may still not be ready, while winger Harvey Barnes and centre-half Jonny Evans (thigh) are still absent.

How to follow

Follow Man City vs Leicester in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel from 5.15pm on Boxing Day.

Last time out…

Jones Knows prediction

Manchester City have won their last eight matches, scoring 24 goals in the process but I get the impression there is another few gears for them to work through. It’s scary. This explains why they are now 1/3 favourites to win the Premier League title despite talk of this being one of the most exciting title races of the last few years.

This fixture goes against the grain usually for Manchester City and Leicester fixtures where cards are concerned. Both clubs rank low for yellow cards over the past five seasons but when they face off at the Etihad Stadium their styles turn the game into a card frenzy. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Man City vs Leicester at the Etihad has produced an average of 4.8 cards per 90 minutes. Only City vs Liverpool has a higher average when it comes to games City have played at home (three meetings minimum). When you add in referee Chris Kavanagh’s liking for a card, this game should see plenty of action in that regard. In 12 games this season across the Premier League and Sky Bet Championship, referee Kavanagh is averaging 4.3 yellow cards per 90 minutes. That makes the 10/11 with Sky Bet for the game to produce 40 or more bookings points one of the best bets of the weekend.

SCORE PREDICTION: 3-0

BETTING ANGLE: Back 40 or more booking points (10/11 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Man City are unbeaten in eight home league games on Boxing Day (W6 D2), winning each of the last six in a row. Their last such defeat came in 1996-97 against Port Vale in the second tier (0-1).
• Leicester have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games on Boxing Day (D2 L8), though that victory did come against reigning champions Manchester City in 2018-19.
• Leicester have lost three of their eight away league games this season (W2 D3), as many as they did in the whole of last season (W11 D5 L3). Both of the Foxes’ wins on the road this term have come against promoted sides (2-1 vs both Norwich and Brentford).
• Man City’s Riyad Mahrez has been on the losing side in all five of his Premier League appearances on Boxing Day – the worst 100 per cent loss record on the day in the competition’s history. His only previous such game with Manchester City was in 2018-19, which ended in defeat to former club Leicester.
• Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has never scored in six Premier League appearances on Boxing Day – he’s one of just three players to score over 100 goals in the competition but never on Boxing Day, along with Sergio Agüero and Les Ferdinand.