Jose Mourinho’s men have been in excellent form at the start of the campaign, beating both West Ham United and Swansea City by four goals to nil to assume the role of early-season pacesetters. The Portuguese’s record of tending to win the league in his second year in charge of his various clubs is looking rather ominous at present, although it must be remembered that there is still a long way to go before the major prizes are handed out. Nevertheless, there is no denying that the Red Devils look in excellent shape heading into gameweek three, with a balance between attack and defence that few in the division can match. The fixture list has been kind to United – they do not play a fellow top-six outfit until the trip to Liverpool in the middle of October – and Mourinho will be keen to see his side take full advantage by laying down a marker in the early weeks of the season.
Leicester have also begun the campaign brightly: the 2016 champions were unfortunate to lose 4-3 to Arsenal in a topsy-turvy encounter on the opening day, before a comfortable 2-0 defeat of newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion last time out. It is difficult to know what to expect from the Foxes this term – after all, the club have hardly been easy to predict in the last three years – but there is no reason why they should not be targeting eighth place, which looks up for grabs below the top six and Everton, who appear nailed on for at least seventh spot. Leicester have recruited well this summer, bringing in Harry Maguire, Kelechi Iheanacho, Eldin Jakupovic and Vicente Iborra, and look in good shape for the challenge ahead, particularly if they are able to retain the services of star man Riyad Mahrez beyond the end of the month.
Mourinho will have to make do without long-term absentee Marcos Rojo (knee), but the United boss otherwise has a fully fit squad of players to choose from. The Portuguese has selected rather attacking line-ups so far this term, with Nemanja Matic anchoring midfield behind Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku; he will probably stick with the same team in this one, although Anthony Martial is pushing for a start after scoring two goals in his last two appearances from the substitutes’ bench. United have a shot difference of 38-14 in their two games so far, but they will have to be wary of leaving too much space in behind against counter-attacking specialists Leicester.
Leicester should have Jamie Vardy available despite the fact that the England striker picked up an injury against Brighton last weekend, but Wes Morgan (back), Iheanacho (toe), Danny Drinkwater (thigh) and Iborra (groin) are all considered doubts. Craig Shakespeare will instruct his charges to sit deep, cede possession, and remain narrow and compact in the defensive phase of play, before springing forward at speed on the break. It is a tried and tested formula for Leicester, although it was interesting to see the East Midlanders press higher up the pitch than usual during the first half against Arsenal a fortnight ago. Perhaps a similar approach will be considered by Shakespeare here, particularly as Vardy and Shinji Okazaki are real nuisances to play against.
Despite Leicester’s promising start to the season, it is worth backing United to come out on top in front of their own supporters this weekend. The Red Devils have been in sparkling form so far this season and should make it nine points from nine here, although a third consecutive clean sheet could be beyond them. With that in mind, consider backing a United victory with both teams to score.
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