Manchester United vs Leicester City Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Manchester United enter this FA Cup Fourth Round tie as favourites, having beaten the Foxes twice this campaign via 5-2 and 3-0 scorelines in the League Cup and Premier League while under the caretaker management of current Leicester boss, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Red Devils have won all of their last four games against the Foxes and have suffered just one home defeat at Old Trafford against Friday night’s opponent since January 1998.

Despite their recent defeat to Crystal Palace, United had won all of their last three matches, while Leicester have struggled for form under van Nistelrooy, winning just three of their first 12 games under the Dutchman.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Leicester City

Manchester United host Leicester City at Old Trafford in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in what is a must-win game for both Ruben Amorim and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Date: 07/02/2025

Location: Old Trafford

Time: 8pm

Amorim’s side will know that their season solely hinges on cup competitions, with their latest league defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace seeing the Old Trafford club sit in a lowly position of 13th-place after 24 matches, with just 29 points to their name (eight wins, five draws and 11 losses).

United exited the League Cup at the quarter-finals stage to Tottenham Hotspur, but, have qualified for the Europa League’s Round of 16, a competition that they will be desperate to win in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

As far as the FA Cup goes, It is easy to forget that the Red Devils are actually the holders of this competition following their sensational cup ran last season that saw them dramatically defeat the likes of Liverpool (4-3), Coventry City (on penalties after a 3-3 draw) and Manchester City (2-0). In the Third Round, Amorim’s men pulled off a superb win at Arsenal via a penalty shootout after drawing the game 1-1 as Gabriel’s deflected shot just past the hour mark cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’ super opener.

Leicester City’s priorities will be to stay in the Premier League this season, as like United, they started the campaign under a different manager in the shape of Steve Cooper, until the Welshman was dismissed in late November. However, since then, the Foxes have shown few signs of improvement, as Ruud van Nistelrooy has won just three of his 12 games in charge.

The 2021 FA Cup winners thrashed QPR 6-2 in the Third Round as the likes of James Justin (2-2), Wout Faes, Jamie Vardy, Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi all got on the scoresheet.

Staggeringly, this will be just the fourth time that these two sides have met in the FA Cup, with United winning ties against the Foxes in the 1963 FA Cup final (3-1) and 1976 (2-1) while Leicester won the most recent meeting in March 2021 via a 3-1 scoreline. Interestingly, since the 1963 FA Cup final between United and Leicester, the winner of each tie since then has featured in that season’s cup final.

Manchester United versus Leicester City will be shown live on ITV 1.

Manchester United

Ruben Amorim will be without the likes of Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martínez, Jonny Evans and Mason Mount due to injury.

New signing Patrick Dorgu is likely to make his Manchester United debut against Leicester City.

Leicester City

Leicester trio Ricardo Pereira, Wilfried Ndidi and Issahaku Fatawu are all injured and will miss the Foxes’ trip to Old Trafford.

Manchester United

Manchester United suffered a dismal 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace last time out as Jean-Philippe Mateta fired in a brace.

Prior to Sunday’s loss, the Red Devils had won three games on the bounce, as they earned victories over FCSB (2-0), Fulham (1-0) and Rangers (2-1) after yet another tepid home performance against Brighton & Hove Albion that resulted in a 3-1 defeat.

Leicester City

Leicester were comfortably beaten 4-0 by Everton at the weekend after showing promise in a 2-1 away win at Tottenham Hotspur in their previous match - as Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannous both got on the scoresheet in what was a shock win for the Foxes.

Prior to that game, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men had suffered consecutive 2-0 home defeats to Fulham and Crystal Palace after thrashing QPR 6-2 in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

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