MANCHESTER CITY will look to ensure they remain hot on the heels of Premier League pacesetters Arsenal when they entertain Leicester City on Saturday evening.
The Citizens' 4-1 stroll to victory at Southampton coupled with Arsenal 2-2 at Liverpool means the Premier League leaders' advantage over City is now just six points having played a game more.
With the Gunners not in action until Sunday afternoon, Pep Guardiola's side could move to within three points of the capital club with a win over Leicester.
Man City have been in irresistible form for a sustained period now and they will certainly be full of confidence after taking control of their Champions League quarter-final tie with a mighty impressive 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in midweek.
As for Leicester, their relegation fears worsened last weekend as they slumped to a damaging 1-0 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Bournemouth.
The 19th-placed Foxes have since appointed Dean Smith as their manager until the end of the season and he could be set for a baptism of fire at the Etihad.
Outright Betting
Manchester City, who have won each of their last five Premier League home games, are unsurprisingly short priced favourites at 1/6 (Bet 365).
Leicester City haven't won a league game since the 11th of February and the bookies' odds suggest that wretched run will continue, with the visitors big underdogs at 16/1 (Ladbrokes) while the draw is an unfancied 15/2 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
It goes without saying that Manchester City are too short to side with here so I'll head to Bet 365‘s Bet Builder market and merge Man City Half Time/Full Time and over zero Man City second-half goals at 5/6 (Bet 365).
Manchester City have hit a rich vein of form just in time for the business end of the season and go into this game having claimed top honours in each of their last nine matches across all competitions.
What's more, the free-scoring Sky Blues have banged in three or more goals in a sizeable seven of those victories, which doesn't bode well for Leicester's leaky backline.
Dean Smith has inherited a side that hold the fourth-worst defensive record in the division and they enter the Etihad having failed to shut out their opponents in each of their last 15 Premier League matches.
With this in mind, coupled with the fact that Man City have been leading at the break en-route to victory in seven of their most recent nine successes, I'm prepared to side with the free-scoring hosts here in the Half Time/Full Time market.
City have come flying out of the traps at the Etihad in recent weeks and I suspect Pep Guardiola will be keen for his team to swat the Foxes aside early on with a view to conserving energy ahead of their return match with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Given that 41 of Man City's 75 Premier League goals have been scored in the second half of games this season, I'll round off the Bet Builder with at least one Citizens strike after the interval.
This 5/6 (Bet 365) Bet Builder would have paid out in seven of Man City's last nine matches and I'm more than happy to support the same formula on Saturday evening in what should be a routine victory for the reigning champions.
Switching gears, I'll also have nibble on the 7/1 on offer with PaddyPower for Erling Haaland to score a header.
Seven of the Norwegian's 30 Premier League goals this season have been sored with this head and he looks worthy of interest to capatalise on Leicester's long standing aerial vulnerability on Saturday evening.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester City will be played on Apr 15, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Leicester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
