Preview: Manchester United vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester United will aspire to delay Manchester City's Premier League title celebrations yet again when they welcome Champions League-chasing Leicester City to Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

The Red Devils came back to win 3-1 at Aston Villa on Sunday, whereas Leicester's top-four hopes suffered a blow with a crushing 4-2 defeat to Newcastle United.

Match preview

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As United have done so often this season, they were forced to come back from a goal behind to secure all three points against Aston Villa, as Bertrand Traore rifled in the opener and a goal which could have handed Man City the Premier League title.

However, the Red Devils were not about to let their incredible away run come to an end that easily as Bruno Fernandes levelled from the spot - his 25th Premier League goal in 48 games - before Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani completed the turnaround to keep United mathematically in the title race.

While it is still possible for the Red Devils to usurp Man City at the top of the rankings, they remain 10 points behind their bitter rivals with four games left to play, and defeat here would see City wrestle the crown off Liverpool's hands as expected.

Even if United manage to prevail against Leicester - which would mark their 15th Premier League match in a row without defeat - it would surely only delay City's inevitable title coronation by another few days, but the Red Devils are at least all but assured of a top-four finish.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men welcome Leicester to Old Trafford having won six of their last seven top-flight matches, but a gruelling run of three matches in the space of five days could threaten to end their hot streak, especially with Liverpool lying in wait 48 hours after Leicester pay a visit.

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The nightmares of the 2019-20 collapse must slowly be reappearing for Leicester supporters, who witnessed their side be simply outclassed and outplayed by a Newcastle United side battling to ensure their Premier League survival.

The Magpies stormed into a four-goal lead through Joe Willock, Paul Dummett and a brace from Callum Wilson before Marc Albrighton and the in-form Kelechi Iheanacho threatened a comeback in the final 10 minutes, but Leicester's third defeat in six matches was confirmed as their top-four hopes took another blow.

However, Brendan Rodgers would have undoubtedly been relieved to see West Ham United lose to Everton on Sunday, so the fourth-placed Foxes' destiny is still very much in their own hands as a five-point gap separates them from the Hammers in fifth spot.

The Foxes have been far from consistent on home soil this season, but they travel to Old Trafford having lost just one of their last 12 Premier League matches - finding the back of the net on 11 separate occasions during that run.

Leicester and Man United played out a pulsating 2-2 draw on Boxing Day earlier in the season, but they have failed to win at Old Trafford since earning promotion back to the Premier League in 2014 - losing five and drawing one of their top-flight games on the Old Trafford turf.

Team News

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United find themselves sweating over the fitness of Harry Maguire, who was taken off at Villa Park with a suspected ankle problem and is highly unlikely to be ready for Tuesday's game, that is if it is not too serious.

The centre-back joins Daniel James, Anthony Martial and Phil Jones in the United treatment room, and given the extremely tight turnaround in fixtures, Solskjaer will certainly rotate his resources.

Eric Bailly should fill the void left by Maguire's absence in defence, while out-of-favour players such as Alex Telles, Nemanja Matic and maybe even Donny van de Beek could benefit from some necessary changes.

Leicester boss Rodgers may also be tempted to rotate with the FA Cup final in the back of his mind, and he has admitted that he will need to be careful over James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira following their returns from injury.

Timothy Castagne could feature on the right if Pereira drops out - with Daniel Amartey returning to the rearguard - but James Justin, Wes Morgan, Harvey Barnes and Jonny Evans are all absent.

Ayoze Perez could feature behind the front two if Rodgers opts to give Maddison the night off, with Iheanacho aiming to build on a tally of 10 goals from his last nine Premier League appearances.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Tuanzebe, Lindelof, Bailly, Telles; Matic, McTominay, Van de Beek; Mata; Greenwood, Cavani

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Amartey, Soyuncu, Fofana; Castagne, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas; Perez; Iheanacho, Vardy

We say: Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City

Leicester have struggled to end their Old Trafford hoodoo over the past few years, but there may be no better time for them to do so than against an extremely fatigued Red Devils outfit.

Nearly a whole contingent of changes can be expected on the hosts' end, but Man United have plenty of strength in depth, and we can see them claiming a point from this encounter.

Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below: