The race for the Champions League could hardly be tighter heading into the final day with two of the contenders facing off in a winner-takes-all match.
Leicester are a point outside the top four but know that victory at home against Manchester United will guarantee Champions League football for just the second time in their history. For United a point will be enough to see them return to continental football but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will want to end the season with a win.
In his pre-game press conference he insisted the side will continue with the attacking style that has served them well recently: “We want to go there and dominate the game – we wanted to get to this position having to go to Leicester needing to beat them. We’re not going to change our approach.We want to go there to try and win the game.”
Both sides arrive at this point after inconsistent campaigns that have hampered their pursuit of Champions League football.
Leicester enjoyed a brilliant start to the 2019/20 season and at the turn of the year were in second place, 14 points clear of United in fifth, and looked destined to secure a top four finish. However in the second half of the season they have had the twelfth-best record in the league and top-scorer Jamie Vardy suffered a seven-game scoring drought. They have not been helped by injuries to key players and will be without James Maddison, Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira for the final showdown.
United’s season began poorly and there were calls for a managerial change after Solskjaer led them to their worst start to a league campaign in 30 years.
However the signing of Bruno Fernandes in January acted as a catalyst and the Portuguese playmaker has been instrumental to the success of their new 4-2-3-1 formation. The Red Devils have been in good form, winning six and drawing two of their last eight league matches.
However there have been disappointments in the last week for United, first being knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea and then held to a draw at home by West Ham. Solskjaer will be desperate to finish the season on a high today.
Football Correspondent
