Manchester United vs. Leicester: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News

Manchester United vs. Leicester City on Sunday sees Old Trafford play host to a May game that could decide the destination of the Premier League title.

That is a familiar scenario—an almost annual occurrence for much of the Premier League's history. Of course, as everyone paying even the slightest attention to this season knows, the remarkable truth is it is Leicester who could seal the title on Sunday.

A win for the Foxes would make them English champions for the first time, ending a story that will, without hyperbole, be one of the most extraordinary in the history of team sports.

Listed as 5,000-1 underdogs when the season started, Claudio Ranieri's men stand on the cusp of true sporting immortality. If they can pull this off, their story will not be forgotten for a very long time.

Of course, Louis van Gaal and United are looking to delay this particular brush with history. They need the three points, too, for the much more prosaic purposes of ensuring one of Europe's traditional super powers scrape into next season's UEFA Champions League.

There is a good deal less romance to be found in that story, but such is the current reality of United's situation. 

The Red Devils are in good form, having won six of their last seven games in all competitions. Leicester are too, of course.

Ranieri, with as much at stake as at any point in his long managerial career, has engineered a run of results that has seen the Foxes unbeaten since 14 February, with a record of played nine, won seven, drawn two. 

Van Gaal was magnanimous ahead of this one, per the Press Association (h/t the Guardian): "I think we have to beat them because we are still in the race for fourth position. We cannot allow that they are the champions this weekend at Old Trafford. I think they shall be the champions a week later. We don’t spoil the party, only postpone it a little bit."

Ranieri acknowledged the iconic, Hollywood dimensions of this particular story while calling for patience, saying, per Sky Sports's Stephen Turner: "It is important to finish the story like an American movie. Always in the final it is OK, a happy ending. It's a good opportunity but for this reason we have to be focused. Let me be calm, wait, we have time."

Date: Sunday, 1 May

Time: 2.05 p.m. BST/9.05 a.m. ET

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK Only) / NBCSN and Telemundo (U.S. only)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK Only) / NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Form Lines

Manchester United: WLWWWW

Leicester City: WWWWDW

Team News

Van Gaal told MUTV (h/t the club's website): "We don’t have any injuries, except [Luke] Shaw, who is already not injured any more but is building up, and [Bastian] Schweinsteiger."

BBC Sport reported Leonardo Ulloa will start for Leicester after "overcoming a slight back problem." He is needed because Jamie Vardy is serving an additional one match ban following his dismissal against West Ham United.

Predicted Lineups

Given United's lack of injuries, Van Gaal has a lot of options. The above lineup is based on the assumption he will not change the winning formation that United have deployed in recent games.

At the King Power Stadium earlier in the season, Van Gaal switched to a back three to combat Vardy, but there should be no need for that here given his absence. 

Antonio Valencia's recent good performances will probably earn him the nod ahead of Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who struggled in the FA Cup semi-final. Morgan Schneiderlin is preferred to Michael Carrick on the assumption Van Gaal will use the more experienced man sparingly between now and the FA Cup final.

Marouane Fellaini could well keep his place in order to combat the presence of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth at set pieces. That likely means no place in the side for Juan Mata, though he could slot in on the right of attacking midfield in place of Jesse Lingard.

Leicester's success has been built around a core unit that has seen little tinkering from Ranieri. In Vardy's absence, the lineup above seems pretty likely. There is the possibility Jeffrey Schlupp could replace Marc Albrighton or Christian Fuchs, but the rest of the side essentially picks itself.

Players to Watch

Anthony Martial's late winner—and all-round performance—at Wembley further endeared him to the United faithful. He is the club's top scorer in the league, and his ability and work rate will be crucial if United are to cause Leicester problems here. 

For the Foxes, it is impossible to look beyond PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez. With 17 goals and 11 assists in the league, he has been vital to Leicester's unlikely title charge. He, like Martial, is a "player to watch" in the sense he is able to conjure moments of magic—the kind that get you off your seat and make football such a magnificent game. 

Key Battle

Wayne Rooney attracted plenty of plaudits for his midfield performance against Everton at Wembley, but he will be up against a much sterner test here.

N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater have formed a partnership that has been a huge part of Leicester's success. If Van Gaal does opt for Fellaini and Rooney in midfield—and Kante and Drinkwater are on their game—things could get a little ugly for United.

If Rooney can excel here, against more challenging opponents than he has currently faced in that position, it will add credence to the notion he can play that role more frequently over the coming years. 

Mahrez's clash with Marcos Rojo could also be key. The Argentina international has not been in the best form, and Mahrez could certainly find some joy down that flank.

Ticket News

For ticket information on all Premier League games, visit the official site or go to the ticket page on the home club's official website.

Odds

Manchester United: 28-25

Draw: 49-20

Leicester City: 3-1

Odds for the game correct at the time of writing, per Odds Shark.