Even at the age of 38, Jamie Vardy is a threat to opposition backlines. He doesn’t quite have the pace which made him so effective in the English top flight just a few years ago but is still pretty clinical in front of goal as evidenced by the fact he’s scored 7 goals for a relegation threatened Leicester this campaign.

He’s averaging 0.81 shots on target per 90 across his 22 Premier League appearances this campaign and has had at least 1 shot on target in 4 of his last 5 Premier League appearances which includes a recent goal away at Tottenham.

Vardy has a track record of scoring against the big 6 sides, he’s continued that trend this season with goals home and away against Tottenham as well as finding the target against Manchester City. He can continue that trend here against a United backline that looks a bit weaker in the absence of Lisandro Martinez who is expected to be ruled out for the season after suffering an injury against Crystal Palace last time out.

Soumare has committed 19 fouls across his 17 Premier League appearances this season, 13 of these have been starts taking his average to 1.43 fouls committed per 90 this season.

Soumare committed 2 fouls and contested 7 duels in the EFL Cup meeting between these sides in which he was very fortunate to avoid a booking for 1 of these challenges.

He’ll be up against Bruno Fernandes who is averaging 1.31 fouls won per 90 across his 23 Premier League appearances this season, he was fouled once in the EFL Cup meeting between the sides and contested 12 duels in the league meeting which Manchester United also managed to win. These numbers suggest that Soumare and Fernandes will be involved in a battle for control in the middle of the park here with Soumare well placed to bring Fernandes down at least once.

Ruben Amorim has experimented with Kobbie Mainoo’s position in recent weeks, he played as one of the supporting 10s in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over FCSB and even played up front in United’s last Premier League assignment against Crystal Palace.

Despite this shift to attacking areas of the pitch, Mainoo’s foul record has remained unaffected and even has the potential to increase with the duel numbers he’s been posting in these positions. Mainoo is averaging 1.60 fouls committed per 90 across his 18 Premier League appearances this season and has committed at least 1 in each of his last 2 games where he’s been playing higher up the pitch.

This advanced role does still see Mainoo drop into pockets in midfield where he is more comfortable which should see his foul record remain around the current mark with an increased workload in advanced positions, especially up against physical centre halves who can bully Mainoo on occasions as we saw against Crystal Palace.

Mads Hermansen’s return to fitness is massive for Leicester, the keeper is arguably their best player and is an excellent shot stopper as well as having high levels of distribution which has caught the eye of some of the bigger clubs in the Premier League.

Hermansen is averaging 4.12 saves per game across his 17 Premier League games this season, the third highest total in the Premier League only behind Mark Flekken and Aaron Ramsdale. This shows just how often Hermansen is having to bail out his side who can be really defensively vulnerable.

Manchester United aren’t the greatest attacking force in the world but have previously had a lot of joy against Leicester this season due to their defensive frailty. United drew 4 saves from Danny Ward in the Leicester net in their cup win over the Foxes and did fall 1 short of this line in the league meeting but judging by Hermansen’s xG prevented from that game (-1.59), on another day he would have made at least 3 saves.

Amad Diallo has been one of the few shining lights for Manchester United this season. Despite the domestic turmoil that currently faces Ruben Amorim’s side, Amad Diallo has managed to register 12 goal contributions across his 22 Premier League appearances – topping United charts for both metrics.

Ruben Amorim has deployed him as a wingback and as one of the supporting players just behind the striker, it’s unclear as to what position he prefers the 22 year old but judging by his goal contribution output this season, he should continue to play him in forward areas with United lacking creativity in the final third.

Diallo registered an assist in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Leicester in the league meeting between these sides, he came off the bench in the 5-2 win over Leicester in the EFL Cup and was bright with 3 shots and 1 of these finding the target.

Oliver Skipp has collected 4 yellow cards across his 15 Premier League appearances this season, crucially just 7 of these games have been starts showing how likely Skipp is to receive a caution every time he comes onto the pitch.

He’s averaging 1.31 fouls committed per 90 across these appearances and struggles to get a foothold in the game, leading to him charging around the pitch and committing fouls to stop the opposition in dangerous moments of transition or clumsiness in his regular challenges.

He made the most tackles of any player on the pitch (5) in Leicester’s 5-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup, further underlining how involved he is with the defensive aspect of the game and should have a similar level of defensive workload here.

Ugarte’s physical nature makes him a good fit for the Premier League but there are still question marks over whether he can keep up with the speed of the English top flight. Ugarte’s bulldozing challenges are actually a result of poor positional play, he isn’t very good at sitting in front of the back 3 and instead roams – most of the time to try and win the ball back.

This lack of positional discipline can cause real issues for United, especially in transition where the back 3 is often left exposed with massive gaps emerging in midfield. Ugarte’s foul record reflects this aspect of his game, he’s averaging 2.33 fouls committed per 90 across his 18 Premier League appearances this season.

Ugarte committed 1 foul in the EFL Cup meeting between these sides and also committed 2 fouls in the later league meeting, making more tackles than any other player on the pitch (6). When he can get close to opposition players, his defensive work is excellent but it is in when the speed of the play increases that Ugarte struggles, leading to him having to make cynical and sometimes silly fouls.

Vestegaard has been in favour since the arrival of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the centre back has committed 12 fouls across his 16 Premier League appearances this season (0.86 per 90).

Vestegaard can really struggle with some of the more agile players in the Premier League, his frame and physique make him quite effective against a traditional number 9 but against players with speed and players that can operate in tight spaces – he really struggles, often leading to him having to make a foul.

Vestegaard committed a foul in Leicester’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League earlier in the campaign; he came off the bench in the EFL Cup tie but was only on the pitch for 19 minutes.