Man City Manchester City

Leicester Leicester City

Men's Team

Christmas 2020: The three weeks which defined last season's title triumph

WHEN AND WHERE

We will take on the Foxes at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 26 December, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 (UK). 

For those living in the UK, our Boxing Day clash won’t be available to watch on TV, but you can follow all the action as it unfolds via our Matchday Centre here on mancity.com and the official Man City app as well as the key events over on Twitter: @ManCity.

For those outside the UK, our global TV listings at the foot of this page will show how to tune in from around the world. 

CITY V LEICESTER: TICKETS ON SALE

CITY TEAM

Starting XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling, De Bruyne

Subs: Steffen, Carson, Ake, Jesus, Grealish, Kayky, Foden, Mbete, Palmer

LEICESTER TEAM

Starting XI: Schmeichel, Albrighton, Amartey, Vestergaard, Thomas, Perez, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Lookman, Maddison, Iheanacho 

Subs: Jakupović, Castagne, Nelson, Bertrand, Choudhury, Ndidi, Soumaré, McAteer, Vardy

MAN CITY APP COVERAGE

As always, the official Man City app will offer comprehensive matchday coverage across the afternoon.

Our Matchday Centre gets underway at 13:00 (UK), bringing you detailed preview material, stats and analysis prior to kick-off, as well as minute-by-minute updates once the game begins.

You can also tune in to Matchday Live, our City-focused show, from 14:00, with special guests providing their expert insight before, during and after the action at the Etihad Stadium.

DOWNLOAD THE MAN CITY APP

From kick-off, live commentary with Alistair Mann and Shaun Goater can also be found on the Man City app.

You can also make sure you don’t miss a beat by turning on push notifications, meaning you’ll be the first to know when the team is announced and when any goals go in.

But our extensive coverage doesn’t end there, with a comprehensive match report, reaction from Pep Guardiola and players, as well as highlights of the action all available across the afternoon.

And CITY+ subscribers who missed or simply want to relive the game in full can enjoy a full-match replay from midnight.

Up next

Next Fixture

All fixtures

Sun 26 Dec

Premier League

Man City

15:00

GMT

Leicester

MATCHDAY LIVE 

Paul Dickov and Shay Given will be special guests for this Sunday’s Matchday Live broadcast, which is available to watch on all our digital platforms.

After the pre-match show, our panel reconvene for a quick half-time debrief, before a more detailed review of the action following the full-time whistle, including their reaction to Guardiola and a player’s post-match thoughts.

Viewer input is always encouraged on Matchday Live, answering questions throughout the broadcast. To have your say, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.

		Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1		Manchester City Man City	5	5	0	0	13	5	8	15
2		Arsenal Arsenal	5	4	0	1	8	4	4	12
3		Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton	5	3	1	1	16	5	11	10

Men's Team

City 6-3 Leicester: Match stats and reaction

LAST TIME OUT

City ensured we spent Christmas Day on top of the Premier League, hitting Newcastle for four at St James’ Park. 

Ruben Dias headed us in front on Tyneside with just five minutes gone before a stunning solo goal from Joao Cancelo doubled our advantage before the half-time break. 

Riyad Mahrez scored our third and his 50th goal for City, despite initially being flagged for offside, before Raheem Sterling netted from close range to round off a great afternoon for Guardiola’s men against the Toon. 

PREVIOUS MEETING

Bernardo Silva was the only scorer in our last clash against the Foxes at the King Power Stadium back in September. 

City dominated proceedings in the Midlands, but couldn’t find the breakthrough before the half-time whistle. 

However, Bernardo fired home from a tight angle just after the hour mark, and that would prove enough for the defending champions to seal a vital three points.

pep preview

Pep Guardiola says he will assess his squad after Thursday’s afternoon training session and the next round of PCR tests.

The players returned after a couple of days’ rest ahead of the busy festive schedule, with matches against Leicester City, Brentford and Arsenal inside a week, but the City boss says it is too soon to say who is available and who isn’t.

“We had two days off,” said Pep.

“Now we start training this afternoon and we will see. Every day we do tests. Maybe they arrive positive, or backroom staff.

“I cannot answer you now, but hopefully as much as possible we are ready for the game on Sunday.”

Leicester City team news

Both Ricardo Pereira and Çağlar Söyüncü were forced off during the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We’ll have to wait and see. We had a few guys come off this evening, Vardy wasn’t great (fitness-wise) in the game either.

“In the last half-hour, his hamstring was tight. Söyüncü has a tight hamstring again, so we’re going to have to just see how we are over the next few days.”

FORM GUIDE 

City go into this game on an eight-match winning streak in the league and having won 11 of our last 15 in all competitions.

Guardiola’s side sit top of the Premier League table, with a three-point advantage over second placed Liverpool.

Leicester saw their two previous league fixtures postponed due to COVID-19.

The Foxes beat Newcastle United 2-0 last time out and have won four of their previous 10 league contests.

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Assistants: Harry Lennard, Dan Robathan

Fourth official: Mike Dean

VAR: Paul Tierney

Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger

TV INFORMATION