Manchester United will be looking to claim a third consecutive Premier League victory on Thursday, as they take on a struggling Leicester City side.
United have bounced back from their poor start to the season under Erik ten Hag with wins over Liverpool and Southampton in successive league games. The Reds have also strengthened their squad in the final weeks of the transfer window, with the signings of Casemiro, Antony and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka confirmed before the deadline.
Striker Anthony Martial will miss out against the Foxes through injury, with one of Cristiano Ronaldo or Marcus Rashford set to start in the No.9 role. New signing Casemiro is in line to make his full debut for the club having appeared as a substitute against Southampton last time out, but Antony is not expected to feature as he waits for his visa.
READ MORE: John Murtough explains Casemiro signing
So, what will the score be on Thursday between Leicester and United? And, what lineup will Ten Hag go with? We simulated the game to get a pre-match score prediction and this is what happened.
Leicester City vs Man United score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 22 and updated the squads with the latest transfers. Due to FIFA 22 not having the latest kits, both sides lined up in the kits from the 2021/22 season, while kit numbers for new transfers may also be incorrect.
We predict that the Foxes could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows : Ward; Castagne, Amartey, Evans, Justin; Tielemans, Ndidi, Maddison; Perez, Vardy, Barnes.
We predict that United could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: De Gea; Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Malacia; Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen. Elanga, Rashford, Sancho.
United dominated the opening stages and duly took the lead after just seven minutes, with Marcus Rashford getting on the scoresheet. Anthony Elanga did well on the right, beating his man before playing a chipped pass into Rashford, who volleyed a first-time effort past Danny Ward to make it 1-0.
United continued to impress and were creating chances, but couldn't grab that second goal when they were on top. As the half wore on, Leicester became stronger and grabbed an equaliser 10 minutes before the break. Jamie Vardy ran behind the United defence but was pushed wide by Raphael Varane, leading the striker to play a pass into Tielemans who produced a superb finish into the far corner.
But United responded well and put themselves back in control of the game in the 43rd minute, with Elanga grabbing the goal.
Rashford repaid the favour from earlier in the game, with the English forward playing a pass across the box into Elanga's path, who took a touch and placed a finish into the far corner.
The game settled down a bit in the second half, with the tempo of the game slowing following numerous substitutions. But one of those substitutes, Cristiano Ronaldo, made an instant impact to set up Jadon Sancho to make it 3-1.
The Portuguese forward managed to squeeze a pass into Sancho, who was unmarked in the box, with the winger making no mistake from close range.
Vardy did grab a goal back for the Foxes in the 90th minute, following a free-kick situation, but United survived the late nerves to claim their third successive win in this simulation.
FIFA 22 predicted score: Leicester City 2-3 Manchester United
Here are the full match stats for this simulation.
FIFA 22 predicts that United should have enough quality to see off an out-of-form Leicester City side on Thursday, with this simulation predicting that the Reds could find the net three times at the King Power Stadium to grab another win. But this simulation also predicts that United could also concede a few too, so will need to be at their best in both boxes if they are to come away with a positive result this midweek.
What do you think the score will be between Leicester City and Manchester United this Thursday? Let us know in the comments below!
READ MORE:
