The Premier League action continues this weekend with an enthralling round of fixtures. The match of the weekend will see Manchester United take on Manchester City, while there is also an intriguing Midlands derby between Leicester and Aston Villa.
Manchester United vs Manchester City
The two Manchester giants meet once again this coming weekend, as United will be looking for a vital home success against their local rivals to improve their top-four chances.
United missed a glorious chance in their recent fixture, as they were held to a draw by Everton. A win in that fixture could have closed the gap between themselves and Chelsea to just a point, but the gap remains at three. United fell behind in that fixture after an error from David De Gea allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to open the scoring. Bruno Fernandes levelled the scores, as the Portuguese player scored his third goal in three games for his new club. United will be hoping that they can match their result against City from earlier in the season, as the Red Devils won 2-1 at the Etihad.
City will be in good confidence coming into this fixture having recently won the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa. City were made to work extremely hard in that fixture, but goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri in the first half managed to do the damage. The Citizens don’t have a lot to play for in the Premier League, as they have already surrendered their title to Liverpool, but this fixture will still be huge for the fans.
The away side has won the last four meetings between these sides, and City will be hoping that continues. However, the most likely result could be a draw, with both sides hitting the back of the net.
Leicester City vs Aston Villa
The second derby of the weekend takes place on Monday evening as Leicester City welcome Aston Villa to the King Power Stadium. These two sides recently met in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with Aston Villa getting the win on that occasion.
Leicester’s form over recent weeks has been stuttering, and their season is in danger of petering out. They remain in with a chance of finishing in the top four as they have an eight-point advantage over fifth-placed Manchester United. However, the Foxes haven’t won in their last four, and have lost back-to-back games. The most recent of those defeats came against Norwich City, as the sides at the bottom of the division claimed a vital 1-0 win.
The defeat means that the Foxes are still seven points behind Manchester City, but a finish in the top-four would present an incredible achievement for Brendan Rodgers in his first full season at the club.
Aston Villa had a dreadful weekend in the Premier League despite not kicking a ball. The Villians were in Carabao Cup final action against Manchester City over the past weekend but dropped into the bottom three as results went against them in the Premier League. To make matters worse, Villa also lost in the final and will now have to re-focus on achieving Premier League survival. They have won just once in their past five, and that run of form will need to change.
Leicester’s form has been dreadful over recent weeks, but this should be a good game for them to get back to winning ways. Villa desperately need the points in order to stay in the division, and they may see a draw as a good result at the King Power Stadium. It is difficult to separate these sides, which means a good bet could be for both teams to score.
