Man Utd vs Leicester City free bet builder tips, predictions and odds
- Seb Sternik
- 9 November 2024
Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of Manchester United for the last time as the Red Devils welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford this Sunday (1400 GMT).
Following the inevitable sacking of Erik ten Hag, Man United immediately handed the reins to Van Nistelrooy on an interim basis.
While the Dutchman was ultimately beaten to the permanent post by Ruben Amorim, it’s fair to say that the former striker has done a stellar job.
Van Nistelrooy’s interim reign kicked off with a 5-2 win over Leicester and he will now be looking for a repeat of that result when he welcomes the Foxes to the Theatre of Dreams for a second time.
Here, we take a closer look at Sunday’s tasty clash.
Good luck and please gamble responsibly.
(all odds are subject to change after the article's latest update)
Man Utd vs Leicester City bet builder
Most goals in second half – 19/20
Both teams to score
Six of the last eight meetings between Man Utd and Leicester have seen both teams find the back of the net – including the 5-2 win for the Red Devils a couple of weeks ago.
Both teams have managed to find goals without too much trouble in recent weeks. With that in mind, we expect BTTS to be a popular choice.
Over 2.5 goals
With the two clubs capable of scoring and finding it hard to keep the back door closed, we’re backing over 2.5 goals in Sunday’s fixture.
A combination of goals and leaky defences makes this an enticing option in the betting.
Most goals in second half
Man Utd have failed to find the back of the net in the first half in three of their last four games.
Leicester got off to a poor start at Old Trafford last time. With that in mind, if Man Utd are to score, we expect them to do so later in the contest.
Man Utd -1 handicap
Overall, we are backing Van Nistelrooy to close out his four-match managerial stint with a big win.
United have scored eight goals across his three games in charge – the same amount they managed in nine Premier League matches under Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils look like a rejuvenated side and we’re backing them in the -1 handicap market.
READ MORE: Who are the best football tipsters and who has the best strike rate?
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Planet Sport unearths the best Manchester United tips for the 2024/25 campaign as Erik ten Hag looks to put the club back into smoother waters.
Man Utd 2024/25 season outrights
United are a massive club and sooner or later, they’ll re-establish themselves as a Champions League regular.
Erik ten Hag could only lead them to an eight-place finish last season and based on the evidence of this summer and the start of the season, we aren’t convinced they’ll be able to make much of an improvement on that.
Man Utd season bets
Under 64 points in the Premier League
Bruno Fernandes top goalscorer
Man Utd odds to win the Premier League
United are an average price of 80/1 at the time of writing. It's hard to make a case for Ten Hag's side to win the title, as so much would need to fall in their favour.
They don't look to have enough quality in their starting XI or enough depth beyond it to mount a sustained challenge.
Can Man Utd win the FA Cup or Carabao Cup?
The Red Devils are joint fifth favourites to win the League Cup at 10/1, with Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool ahead of them in the betting.
It's a similar story with the FA Cup but bookmakers are offering as low as 8/1 and as high as 14/1 at the time of writing. Thye've made it as far as the round of 16 and Leicester and currently their next hurdle to clear.
They deserve respect as the defending champions, and they have shown the ability to motivate themselves for one-off contests, beating Liverpool and City en route to silverware.
Will Man Utd win the Europa League?
Despite a disappointing 1-1 draw with Twente to start their Europa League, Manchester United are second favourites to win the competition, behind Tottenham, at 6/1.
Man Utd's total points
Ten Hag’s side won 18 out of 38 matches en route to 60 points last season. The most disappointing aspect of their eight-place finish was the lack of fight in several losses.
This season’s points total market has been set at 64 to 66 with the latter number offering a bigger price. Eight of their 14 defeats came on the road as they won just four of 14 matches against teams above them.
None of their business in this window makes us think they’ll be considerably stronger next year.
Even if 18-year-old Leny Yoro does improve the defence in the long term, he’ll miss a sizeable chunk of the season through injury before undergoing a tough apprenticeship.
The teams above United are notably stronger and will pose as much if not more of a challenge. The top three are still strong, Newcastle have Tonali back and Tottenham continue to build.
The away fixtures that caused United so many problems aren’t likely to get any easier, either.
Teams like West Ham, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth are all likely to improve and may take points off the Reds.
Man Utd's top goalscorer
Our thoughts on this market tie in with the points we made above. Another reason United may struggle is down to their lack of goals.
Rasmus Hojlund will miss the start of the season and will then need to get back up to speed.
New signing Joshua Zirkzee will have to shoulder some of the burden, as will Marcus Rashford who may feature down the middle.
Like Hojlund last year, Zirkzee is a fairly young player who is unfamiliar with this level and may take time to adapt. Ten Hag could move for one more forward player in this window, but it won’t be a marquee signing.
United averaged 1.5 goals per game last season, whilst the next lowest-scoring side in the top eight, Tottenham, produced 1.95 goals per game.
Fernandes showed good leadership with 10 goals and eight assists last season, and you can make a case for his experience being crucial to their success, particularly when Hojlund is absent.
The Danish forward managed 10 goals in 30 games last season but it already looks like he could feature in fewer matches, especially if his injury woes extend beyond six weeks.
Ten Hag had all season to bring the best out of this group of players and never managed to get the likes of Antony or Rashford firing, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if, with the aid of set pieces, Fernandes comes to the rescue often enough to be United’s top team goalscorer.
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