Hello! And welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of this afternoon’s clash at the King Power between Leicester City and Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men secured a last-gasp 2-2 draw at home to Burnley midweek having gone two goals down, and the Norwegian will be keen to keep momentum moving forward as his side go in search of a Champions League spot.
Leicester threw a small spanner in the works of the title race against Liverpool, denying Jurgen Klopp’s men two points with a 1-1 draw at Anfield thanks to Harry Maguire’s well-taken equaliser.
Kick-off at the King Power is coming up at 2.05pm.
Let’s get started with the team news…
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨 #LeiMun pic.twitter.com/gexk0tNc1m
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 3, 2019
So, today’s teams will line out as:
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi, Mendy, Gray, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Fuchs, Morgan, Choudhury, Ghezzal, Okazaki, Iheanacho.
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Bailly, Shaw, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford, Sanchez.
Substitutes: Romero, Dalot, Jones, Fred, Mata, Martial, Lukaku.
Right with half an hour to go before we get underway, how do we see this one going this afternoon? Let us know below!
Poll Results:
KICK-OFF: We’re underway in Leicester for the first half!
The hosts with the first real threat of the first half as Jamie Vardy threatens to break through, before Eric Bailly boots the ball out awkwardly for a corner kick. Wilfred Ndidi rises high to try and meet the resulting cross, but his header flies wide of the post.
Very, very close from Marcus Rashford at the other end. Luke Shaw provides a dangerous, curling cross right into the danger zone. But Rashford heads wide when he really should have stuck it away. A poor miss and it remains 0-0.
Sharp save from Kasper Schmeichel as Man United begin to up the ante and apply a serious amount of pressure in the final third. This time around the ball spills to Rashford at an acute angle inside the box. The England forward does really well to smack an effort on target at the near post, but Schmeichel reads the danger and saves well.
GOAL! LEICESTER CITY 0-1 MAN UNITED (RASHFORD 9)
GOOOOOOOOOAL! Manchester United storm into the lead with nine minutes on the clock. It’s a poor clearance from Ricardo Pereira under pressure, Paul Pogba provides a killer ball over the top to punish the right back’s mistake and Marcus Rashford provides a clinical finish. It’s his 10th goal this season and his side lead 1-0.
It’s been all United so far and Leicester really have struggled right from the off in this game. The goal had been coming and you get the sense from these early indicators that there could potentially be more goals in this for the visitors. Leicester yet to test David De Gea with a shot on target so far.
Close to an equaliser from the right boot of James Maddison. He gathers possession amid a scramble inside the box and fires a powerful effort goal-bound. It looked certain to fly in, but for a last-gasp block from Luke Shaw sliding in at the last second. Brilliant defending from him.
Jesse Lingard picks up the game’s first yellow card. He tripped up James Madison as the playmaker tried to break away on the counter, clipping the back of his heels. Lingard argued his case that it was purely accidental, but referee Mike Dean doesn’t believe him.
The game’s pace has slowed down considerably. United are still trying to bomb forward in search of a second, but they are struggling to string any number of passes together in midfield between Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera.
Demarai Gray with a strike from distance, but it canons off Eric Bailly who put himself on the line to head the ball away bravely there. Bailly seemed to feel the full impact of that strike, but he seems okay to continue on here.
Jesse Lingard with an effort inside the Leicester penalty area. He is afforded far too much time and space to get his shot away, but a deflection off the boot of Harry Maguire sees the ball float towards Kasper Schmeichel and away from danger.
Jamie Vardy is in the book too. He slides in dangerously on Victor Lindelof and is shown a yellow card by referee Mike Dean. A needlessly reckless challenge.
Most @premierleague ⚽ goals for @ManUtd since Rashford's PL debut in Feb 2016
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) February 3, 2019
26 RASHFORD
25 Martial
24 Lukaku
20 Pogba pic.twitter.com/N7Antt1yBh
It’s been a sluggish start to this game from Leicester. James Madison has been their sole source of attacking inspiration, with Jamie Vardy very isolated and getting few touches of the ball in the final third.
Jesse Lingard bursts forward in a dangerous position, but Ashley Young’s attempted through ball is overhit and spills out wide to his team-mate’s visible frustration. Young should have done an awful lot better there.
Nemanja Matic is in the book now too, picking up a yellow card for a late foul. James Madison swings in the resulting free-kick, the ball falls to Harvey Barnes, but his strike from 25 yards is poor.
There will be three minutes of stoppage time to come at the end of the first half.
HALF-TIME: LEICESTER CITY 0-1 MAN UNITED
HALF-TIME Leicester 0-1 Man Utd
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 3, 2019
Rashford puts Man Utd ahead but Leicester end the half strongly#LEIMUN pic.twitter.com/hiuQGT7srD
SECOND-HALF: We’re back underway for another 45 minutes!
Two chances in quick succession for Leicester, who have flown out of the traps in the second half. Firstly Harvey Barnes tested his luck with a powerful strike, before James Maddison had a go from a tricky angle, but he could only find the side-netting.
A very strong start to the second half from Claude Puel’s men, who are on the front foot. Manchester United look a little startled at the moment, but David De Gea’s clean sheet remains in-tact as things stand.
A bit more control from Man United, taking the sting out of the game. Anthony Martial and Juan Mata have been sent to warm up, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer surveys his options off the bench to try and put this game to bed.
The visitors have survived whatever early pressure Leicester arrived into this second half with, as the Foxes now begin to back off and allow United enjoy large sways of possession at the back. Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are happy to stroke the ball about at the back.
A first real opportunity for United to double their lead. Luke Shaw attacks with serious intent, before cutting back onto his left foot and laying the ball off to Rashford. He has a go at goal, but drags wide.
Save! Jamie Vardy comes inches away from levelling with a close range strike. The ball arrived out of no-where, after a free-kick took a wild deflection into the air, and Vardy could only swing a low effort right at David De Gea.
Paul Pogba goes down on the edge of the box after feeling contact from Nampalys Mendy, but referee Mike Dean doesn’t spot it. Already on a booking, there was a chance the Leicester midfielder could have been sent off had Dean spotted that.
Substitution: Anthony Martial replaces Alexis Sanchez for Man United.
First change of the game for #MUFC, with @AnthonyMartial coming on for @Alexis_Sanchez. #LEIMUN pic.twitter.com/zR71FFx91Y
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 3, 2019
Better from Leicester as Barnes and Vardy exchange passes on the edge of the area. Barnes pulls away from his marker and directs a dangerous effort curling towards the bottom corner, but it curls too far and ends up wide.
Red shirts flood forward via Marcus Rashford down the left, but Harry Maguire reads the danger and provides a much-needed interception to stab the ball away from danger and slow down his opponent’s momentum.
Substitution for Leicester City: Shinji Okazaki replaces Demarai Gray.
◀️ @22Demarai
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 3, 2019
▶️ @okazakiofficial #LeiMun 📻 https://t.co/wpOgwqktqI pic.twitter.com/uzLBgff09I
Save! A brilliant, dipping free-kick from Rachid Ghezzal forces a fine stop from David De Gea to keep Manchester United ahead. The Spain international had to stretch all the way to reach into the top corner and tip the ball out to safety.
A little over ten minutes to go now. Leicester have kept themselves within touching distance here and know there is a share of the spoils up for grabs late on here. United have been the more threatening up front, but have not had the cutting edge to add to their lead in this second half.
Luke Shaw is the third Manchester United man in the referee’s book this afternoon, picking up a yellow card for a sloppy foul as his side start to drop deeper into their own half — Leicester rallying for a late equaliser.
Nemanja Matic is lucky not to receive his second yellow card there. The Serbian leave his studs in competing for the ball alongside Harvey Barnes, but Mike Dean doesn’t spot it and the midfielder goes unpunished.
Substitution for Leicester City: Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Nampalys Mendy.
A third and final #lcfc change...#LeiMun pic.twitter.com/CioECqp1GT
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 3, 2019
Close! Once again Jamie Vardy comes close to grabbing a second-half equaliser, but once again he hits his shot right at David De Gea. A low cross into the box was seized upon by the Leicester number nine, but he failed to strike either side of the United goalkeeper. It’s been a very frustrating afternoon for Vardy.
Substitution for Man United: Phil Jones replaces Jesse Lingard.
A final #MUFC change: @PhilJones4 replaces @JesseLingard.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 3, 2019
One minute plus added time to be played. #LEIMUN pic.twitter.com/SrRQBspnEd
It’s end-to-end stuff as time begins to run out. Leicester flood men forward, but the ball flies down the other end where Anthony Martial almost puts the game beyond doubt, but his left-footed effort is palmed away by Kasper Schmeichel at his near post.
There will be four minutes of stoppage time to come at the end of the second half.
Desperately close from Harry Maguire right at the death. A bouncing ball pops up just too high in front of him inside the box. Maguire tried his best to steer it on target, but his half-volley could only fly comfortably wide.
FULL-TIME: LEICESTER CITY 0-1 MAN UNITED
There we have it then, it’s five away wins in a row for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It wasn’t the most thrilling of games, but three points all count the same regardless. Marcus Rashford’s strike teed up by a superb assist from Paul Pogba was the only real moment of quality in the game, with the win keeping Manchester United on track to compete for a top four finish. Thanks a million for joining us this afternoon — you can read our full match report from today’s game here. Cya!
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's unbeaten #PL start at @ManUtd continues thanks to Marcus Rashford#LEIMUN pic.twitter.com/XPMD40UcMa
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 3, 2019
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