Manchester United vs. Leicester City: Predicted lineups, team news and FA Cup score prediction
By Mason Auman
Manchester United, the current holders of the FA Cup, will be hoping to repeat their performance in last year's iteration of the competition, particularly because their place in Europe next year could depend on it.
In order to do so, however, they'll need to find their footing in nearly all areas of the pitch. Starting at the back — goalkeeper André Onana is at once capable of pulling off acrobatic stops and liable to blunder the ball into the back of his own net. The loss of Lisandro Martínez — with what appears to be a season-ending ACL injury — last weekend in the league match against Crystal Palace is a massive blow to a United defensive line already under duress.
In the middle of the park, only Bruno Fernandes has offered real consistent quality, augmented at times by some great performances from Amad Diallo. Up top, it's evident that Ruben Amorim doesn't have a wealth of faith in his attacking options, evidenced by his decision to play Kobbie Mainoo as a false-9 in the loss against Palace.
All of that is to say, United have a lot of work to do in their efforts to rebuild the club. But the FA Cup gave them a moment of joy — and a large piece of silverware — last season. Impressively, the achievement required them to beat both Liverpool and Manchester City.
One-time United legend (and caretaker manager) Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City are surely a more manageable opponent than the aforementioned giants. The Red Devil's best bet will be to recreate the tenacity and energy they showed in their January draw versus Liverpool, frustrating the opposition and throwing themselves into challenges to win the battle in midfield.
Can Premier League legend Jaime Vardy do it (again) in the Cup?
While Leicester City have not enjoyed a great deal of success since returning to the top flight in English football, their perennial star man Jaime Vardy never ceases to make his mark on the big-time. The veteran has seven goals so far this season, the most recent coming in his team's massive upset victory against Tottenham Hotspur — making sure to remind Spurs of his trophy cabinet in the process.
Not only do Leicester have more Premier League titles than Tottenham (read: one), but they've also got a recent FA Cup to their name. The Foxes secured the 2021 FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, courtesy of a screaming goal from outside the box by current Aston Villa player Youri Tielemans.
While Tielemans is now part of Unai Emory's exciting project at Villa, Vardy does have support at Leicester in the form of Facundo Buonanotte, Stephy Mavididi and the seemingly eternal Jordan Ayew. If there were ever a time for them to make a splash, it would be on Friday at Old Trafford.
Liverpool vs. Tottenham news, predicted lineup and score
In addition to the aforementioned injury of Lisandro Martínez, Manchester United are still without Mason Mount and Luke Shaw — neither of which are reported to have a specific return timeline.
Leicester City are without Abdul Fatawu for the remainder of the season, as the forward has suffered a ligament tear. But while Riccardo Pereira isn't expected back until the end of the month, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi should be back for Friday's clash.
Manchester United predicted line up: Bayindir, Yoro, Maguire, de Ligt, Dorgu, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dalot, Diallo, Zirkzee, Mainoo
Leicester City predicted line up: Hermansen, Coulibaly, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Winks, Soumaré, Ayew, El Khannouss, Mavididi, Vardy
Predicted Score: Manchester United 2-0 Leicester City
How to watch Manchester United vs. Leicester City
- Date: Friday, Feb. 7
- Start Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Old Trafford — Manchester, England
- Watch: ESPN+
Kickoff for the match is 3:00 p.m. ET, on Friday, Feb. 7. The game will be streaming exclusively on ESPN+.