After grinding out a hard-fought point against second-placed Arsenal last weekend and a huge 4-1 win to eliminate Real Sociedad in the Europa League at mid-week, Manchester United are hitting the road to take on the seemingly Championship-bound Leicester City Foxes on Sunday.
Here are five players on both sides will decide the outcome of this Premier League fixture.
Manchester United DM Manuel Ugarte
Manuel Ugarte’s had an uneven first season at Old Trafford, but the talent is clearly there within the Uruguayan. Ruben Amorim’s task is to get the former Sporting CP standout to play at the world-class level he flashed while at PSG in his lone season in Paris.
On Sunday, Ugarte needs to be the backbone of the Manchester United midfield, control the game, and help drive the ball forward for the attacking players like Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee.
Leicester City DM Wilfred Ndidi
Leicester City’s best player is easily Wilfred Ndidi. He has always been a quality Premier League defensive midfielder, and now that he’s back in the Premiership, the former Barcelona-linked destroyer is reminding fans around England why the big clubs were once thinking of signing him.
Ndidi is the best pure defensive midfielder in the league right now when it comes to breaking up play and winning possession. The numbers back it up, as he’s averaging 3.9 combined tackles and interceptions per game this season.
Manchester United ST Rasmus Hojlund
Although Rasmus Hojlund could be getting more service, he does have Bruno Fernandes behind him and needs to take accountability for his lack of a killer instinct in front of goal.
Hojlund needs to force the issue more, and while the talented is very much there within the former Atalanta man, it has yet to truly shine through. A suspect Leicester City defense is an ideal opponent for Hojlund to get off the mark with more than a goal, because there are eight players in this matchup alone who have scored more than he has this season.
Leicester City GK Mads Hermansen
The 24-year-old Danish international is in the 9th percentile in save percentage and 5th in goals allowed per game, yet he is in the 97th in post-shot expected goals prevented.
Mads Hermansen may actually be the biggest key to victory for Leicester City, because they are, for sure, going to get shot on a lot by a hungry Manchester United attack that will be confident after pouring four on a significantly better Real Sociedad side.
Manchester United LM Diogo Dalot
Diogo Dalot has failed to convince in recent weeks, but, by and large, he has still be one of the top players on Manchester United this season when looking at his work rate and overall all-around play.
The move to the wing back position has exposed some of Dalot’s technical issues, which will always be there, and the onus will be on him to provide Hojlund, Zirkzee, and others with better deliveries. Note that Dalot has only recorded one assist this season and is averaging a meager 0.7 key passes per game.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.