Jose Mourinho Manchester United Leicester City Premier League

Manchester United Looks to Continue Dominance Versus Leicester

The 2018-19 Premier League season kicks off with a matchup between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford Friday. Oddsmakers have United as the decent-sized favorite in moneyline markets at -215 at the time of writing and for good reason considering just how dominant the Red Devils have been against The Foxes at Old Trafford down the years. Leicester comes back at +650 with the draw +310.

SHARK BITES
  • Man United has seven wins and two draws in the last nine Premier League meetings at Old Trafford.
  • Man United has won three-straight Matchday 1 games in the Premier League.
  • Leicester tied for the second-most goals conceded in the league last year (38).

View Manchester United vs Leicester Matchup Page

United Devilishly Dominant at Home Versus Foxes

Meetings between these two at Old Trafford have been very, very one-sided. United has seven wins and two draws in the last nine Premier League meetings in Manchester, with Leicester’s last win dating back to a 1-0 win in January of 1998 thanks to a Tony Cottee goal.

United won last season’s fixture 2-0 behind goals from Marcus Rashford and Marouane Fellaini in their third match of the season, all of which were wins. In fact, United has cashed as one-goal faves in spread markets (the spread this season) in each of the last two meetings in Manchester and three of the last four.

Considering the moneyline price, it’s a good leg to a parlay card, or, you can take United as one-goal faves which can be had at -120.

Fast Starters on Matchday 1

As stated in the section above, Manchester United won its first three games last season and outscored opponents (including Leicester) 10-0 in those matches. In Matchday 1 last season, United had an incredibly easy time with West Ham, winning 4-0 at home thanks to a Romelu Lukaku brace plus goals from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba.

United has won Matchday 1 fixtures in each of the last three seasons as well as four of the last five. Furthermore, manager Jose Mourinho also fancies points from Sportsbook matches as he’s unbeaten in his last nine and has picked up a full three points in eight of those.

Not-So-Sly Foxes at the Back

Despite featuring everyone’s current-favorite English centerback, Harry Maguire, Leicester had issues keeping the ball out of their own net last season, especially on away days. The Foxes conceded 60 goals last season, fifth-most, and conceded 38 on the road, second-most behind West Ham’s 42.

After a fantastic display at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Maguire has been a transfer target for a number of English clubs this window, including one Manchester United. The Foxes will need all the help they can get, however, as manager Claude Puel has stated that Maguire and striker Jamie Vardy will not play in this game.

After shocking the world in its 2015-16 title winning campaign, Leicester suffered after the loss of defensive-midfield genius N’Golo Kanté two seasons ago and now must adjust to life without dynamic winger Riyad Mahrez who was sold to Manchester City.

Transfers have been incoming including defensive help with the likes of Jonny Evans and Ricardo Pereira as well as Mahrez replacement Rachid Ghezzal from Monaco.

Keep An Eye on Lineups

This should be your first rule when betting Premier League football anyway, but lineups for Friday’s matchup could look a whole lot different than you might expect.

I already mentioned Maguire and Vardy as potential misses for the Foxes, but newcomer James Maddison could also miss out here. For the hosts, Mourinho could face a slew of personnel changes. Keep an eye on the statuses of Nemanja Matic, Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Ashley Young, all of whom face late fitness tests ahead of this contest.

Manchester United has seven wins and two draws in the last nine Premier League meetings at Old Trafford.home Manchester United has won three-straight Matchday 1 games in the Premier League.home Leicester tied for the second-most goals conceded in the league last year (38).away
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