On Sunday, Leicester City (6 wins, 6 losses, 4 draws) will travel to Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City (14-2-2). Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. ET. Below, we preview the Manchester City vs. Leicester City odds and lines, and make our best EPL bets, picks and predictions.
Manchester City is coming into this one looking to distance itself atop the English Premier League.
For this match, D Kyle Walker is doubtful and F Ferran Torres is out. That said, Man City has thrived this season due to their league-best defense, giving up just 9 goals in 18 matches.
They’ve scored 44, the second-most in the league. Their midfield, led by Jack Grealish and Kevin de Bruyne is finally at full strength as well, so this could be as good of form as City gets.
That’s bad news for the ninth-place Leicester City. A slew of players are doubtful for the road side including star F Jamie Vardy. Leicester is coming into this one in good form as well despite being shorthanded.
They’ve scored 11 goals in their last 4 EPL matches. Although they did manage 3 in a midweek showdown with Liverpool, Vardy, who isn’t expected to play, scored two of them.
Manchester City vs. Leicester City: Odds, picks and predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Manchester City -800 (bet $100 to win $800) | Leicester City +1700 (bet $1700 to win $100) | Draw +850
- Over/Under: 3.5 (O: -145 | U: +115)
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Prediction
Manchester City 2, Leicester City 0
Money line (ML)
PASS on the money line. Man City is the best team in the EPL, and they should win at home. They’re 7-1-1 at home. I wouldn’t bet against even a draw here, and betting on them at -800 has little value.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE is available at -100. But, I’d rather take BOTH TEAMS NOT TO SCORE at -125. The last time these two teams played, it was a 1-0 final.
Leicester has had a solid attack as of late, but against Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City combined, they’ve scored 3 goals in 4 games. They struggle against top-tier sides, and I’d expect that again without many key players and on the road.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET on the UNDER 3.5 (+115). The reasoning is similar as before.
While Leicester has 27 goals for and 27 goals against in 18 games, they haven’t played heavy-scoring matches with top-tier sides. Chelsea won 3-0, and Arsenal won 2-0 against Leicester.
Similarly, Man City’s last three matches against top-10 opponents have resulted in all three games going under 3 goals and them scoring just 5 goals in the 3 games.
High-level games typically result in fewer goals, and I’d bank on that again here.
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