Manchester City will be hoping to end a wretched recent run as they travel to take on Leicester in their final fixture of 2024.
Pep Guardiola’s glittering and much-garlanded squad have won just once in their last 13 games, with their hopes of a fifth consecutive Premier League title in tatters and a slide down the table hastening.
A draw against Everton on Boxing Day represented another significant setback with the club’s problems rather illustrated by a tame penalty miss from the out-of-form Erling Haaland, with Guardiola admitting that investment may be needed in January to stop the rot.
Will a trip to the East Midlands offer respite? Leicester have endured their own tricky festive period after a promising start under Ruud van Nistelrooy, a 3-0 thrashing by fellow relegation-battlers Wolves followed by a somewhat more predictable defeat against Liverpool to leave them in the bottom three.
Follow all of the latest from the King Power Stadium in our live blog below:
Leicester entertain Manchester City in the Premier League | Live on Sky Sports
Defending champions have won just once in 13 games in horror recent run
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side sit in the bottom three after defeats to Wolves and Liverpool
21’ – GOAL! Savinho finishes the rebound from Foden’s saved shot (LEI 0-1 MCI)
Leicester XI: Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Savinho, Foden; Haaland
Kevin De Bruyne returns to starting line-up for Man City in only change
Leicester City FC 0 – 1 Manchester City FC
14:51 , Luke Baker
Savinho has his first goal for Man City in the Premier League! Neat link-up between Lewis and Foden, with the latter shooting from 25 yards. It’s an awkward bouncing shot and Stolarczyk dives to his right to push it away but straight to Savinho.
The winger still has a bit to do, to the left of the goal, but finishes neatly past the scrambling keeper. Stolarczyk has to do better with the Foden shot – push it wide or away – but take nothing away from the clever finish.
14:51 , Luke Baker
Leicester have actually been on top for the last 10 minutes and the Foxes fashion another chance. It’s terrible by Gvardiol who isn’t aware of his surroundings and plays a ball back way too short for Ortega.
The ever-lively Vardy nips in and rounds Ortega but the angle’s tight and as he shoots, the Man City goalkeeper sprawls back and blocks the shot wide. That was close!
14:47 , Luke Baker
Leicester have had a bit more possession since those one-sided early exchanges. And Man City certainly look there for the taking on the counter-attack.
Neat build-up from the Foxes and a reverse pass finds Vardy who turns Ake inside out and surges into the box before a covering Lewis hooks the ball away. The flag then goes up against Vardy, who was narrowly offside again.
14:44 , Luke Baker
Thoughts on the opening exchanges from our man on the ground in Leicester, Richard Jolly.
Reasons for optimism and pessimism for Manchester City so far. Kevin de Bruyne has brought creativity, particularly to set up a chance for Erling Haaland, and looks prominent. But the penalty that wasn’t – when Stefan Ortega upended an offside Jamie Vardy – showed how open they are and how susceptible they look to every counter-attack in the extended absence of a defensive midfielder.
14:42 , Luke Baker
Wow, what a let-off for Man City! They’re caught on the break, Vardy is clean through on goal and Ortega takes him out as he tries to round him.
It’s a clear penalty but the visitors are reprieved because Vardy was marginally offside from the ball through. Lucky, lucky Man City.
14:38 , Luke Baker
Probably should be 1-0 to Man City. De Bruyne with space down the right, found by a nice chipped pass from Lewis, the Belgian pulls the ball back for Haaland who hits it first time from 12 yards out but Stolarczyk sticks out a leg to make the save.
Either corner and that was in for Haaland!
14:36 , Luke Baker
Nice move by Leicester and Mavididi has room on the right. He cuts in and tries to curl a shot into the far right corner but doesn’t bring it back and it goes well wide.
A slight warning for Pep Guardiola’s visitors though
14:35 , Luke Baker
The pattern you’d expect from this match so far with Man City almost exclusively having possession in this opening five minutes. When they give the ball away, they immediately win it back and De Bruyne shoots from 25 yards but it’s harmlessly over the top.
14:33 , Luke Baker
Foden out on the right with De Bruyne through the centre just behind Haaland for Cirt in the early going. I’m sure that will be fluid across the course of 90 minutes though
Savinho drives in from the left, straight at the Leicester defence but quickly runs out of ideas and a heavy touch takes it out for a goal-kick
14:31 , Luke Baker
And we’re off at the King Power. Both teams wearing blue… Different shades at least, I suppose
14:30 , Luke Baker
The teams are out on the pitch and kick-off is imminent in Leicester. Can the Foxes spring a shock or will Man City finally end their horror run by winning just a second match in their last 14?
14:27 , Luke Baker
Only a few minutes until kick-off now. Here’s a reminder of the teams today.
Leicester XI: Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
Man City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo; Savinho, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
14:22 , Luke Baker
A bit of pre-match reading here for you – our chief football writer Miguel Delaney has examined the charges against Man City and the impact that could have on football in 2025.
Man City’s hearing looms over football – and the ramifications will be seismic
14:15 , Jamie Braidwood
Manchester City have conceded 26 goals in all competitions since the start of November, the second most in Europe’s top five leagues behind Heidenheim’s 28.
Pep Guardiola’s side have also dropped 12 points from winning positions, which is already two more than the whole of last season.
14:06 , Luke Baker
The estimable Richard Jolly is our man on the ground at the King Power today – here’s his pre-match thoughts.
Pep Guardiola’s latest search for a solution has taken him back to Kevin de Bruyne, who starts after two games on the bench. Jamie Vardy, scorer of two hat-tricks against City in the Guardiola years, is fit to return for Leicester, who are without the injured (and excellent) Mads Hermansen in goal. Guardiola brings up 500 games in charge of City, something few expected when he arrived, but in the worst run of form in his reign.
14:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 19 and drawing one.
This season, they’ve beaten Ipswich and Southampton at home. However, that 1-0 victory over the Saints came just before their horror run.
13:45 , Jamie Braidwood
Ruud van Nistelrooy said Leicester still have to be perfect to beat Manchester City despite Pep Guardiola’s struggles.
The Foxes were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool on Boxing Day and a third defeat in a row saw Van Nistelrooy’s side drop into the relegation zone.
“Everybody knows, when you look at the team and how they played (against Everton), I know the quality of that squad and manager so I am focusing on that and the quality we will face,” Van Nistelrooy said.
“We have to prepare for a great performance in our side. Being where we are we need to be spot on in all parts of football to get a result.
“For us all the games we are playing are massive. We know a certain amount of points are necessary and every second of every game is important.
“It is something which needs constant improvement and pressure to perform and get results. It is from game to game, we evaluate the game and make a gameplan to get a result against City.”
13:30 , Jamie Braidwood
Kevin De Bruyne has scored or assisted in just one game for Manchester City since the start of September. That was in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, which is City’s only win in their last 13 games.
He was an unused substitute in the defeat at Aston Villa and got 16 minutes off the bench in the 1-1 draw against Everton on Boxing Day.
13:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Kevin De Bruyne starts for Manchester City and replaces Jeremy Doku in their only change from the 1-1 against Everton on Boxing Day.
Jamie Vardy is fit to start for Leicester and comes in for Patson Daka, Jordan Ayew is suspended and is replaced by Facundo Buonanotte.
13:16 , Jamie Braidwood
Leicester: Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
Man City: Moreno, Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Savinho, Foden; Haaland
13:11 , Jamie Braidwood
Injuries have been a key factor in Manchester City’s stunning loss of form. We’ll have the team news from the King Power in the next few minutes. Jamie Vardy is expected to return for Leicester, but does he start?
13:01 , Jamie Braidwood
Manchester City’s run of results, NINE losses in 13 games
L 1-2 vs Tottenham (A) – Carabao Cup
L 1-2 vs Bournemouth (A) – Premier League
L 1-4 vs Sporting (A) – Champions League
L 1-2 vs Brighton (A) – Premier League
L 0-4 vs Tottenham (H) – Premier League
D 3-3 vs Feyenoord (H) – Champions League
L 0-2 vs Liverpool (A) – Premier League
W 3-0 vs Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League
D 2-2 vs Crystal Palace (A) – Premier League
L 0-2 vs Juventus (A) – Champions League
L 1-2 vs Manchester United (H) – Premier League
L 1-2 vs Aston Villa (A) – Premier League
D 1-1 vs Everton (H) – Premier League
12:46 , Jamie Braidwood
Pep Guardiola says he will not quit as he looks to end Manchester City’s miserable run of form, with nine defeats and just one win in 13 games.
“I will try, I will keep going. Sometimes you think (the bad run) will be (ended) earlier or (it would be) easier to fix it, but others it takes more time.
“I will not give up. I want to be here. I want to do it and, with the situation that we have, we have to do it.
“Of course I want it, everyone wants it. I don’t want to disappoint my people in terms of the club, the fans, the people who love this club.
“I think all of us in our job want to do it well and please the people. That is undeniable, not a question mark.
“The biggest test is to come back again, but we have done that before.”
12:31 , Luke Baker
Ederson, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are all doubts while Kevin De Bruyne could start after being on the substitutes bench against Everton.
Man City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Silva; Doku, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
12:25 , Luke Baker
Jamie Vardy missed Leicester’s defeat at Liverpool on Boxing Day but could return to the starting XI on Sunday. However, centre-back Wout Faes is still a doubt.
Leicester XI: Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
12:20 , Luke Baker
Leicester vs Man City is due to kick off at 2:30pm GMT on Sunday 29 December at the King Power Stadium.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
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12:15 , Luke Baker
Manchester City will be looking for their first win since early December when they travel to Leicester City this afternoon.
The Foxes took an early lead at league leaders Liverpool on Boxing Day but eventually succumbed to a 3-1 defeat which leaves them in the relegation zone.
Erling Haaland missed a second-half penalty on Boxing Day as City dropped more points in a 1-1 draw with Everton, extending their torrid run to one win in 13 matches. Pep Guardiola’s side are outside the top four heading into their final game in 2024.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Is Leicester vs Man City on TV? Channel and how to watch Premier League fixture
11:55 , Luke Baker
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Leicester vs Man City today. Surely this is the game where Pep Guardiol’a men finally end their dismal run? Surely…
