Charlie Nicholas states his prediction for Leicester v Man United
Charlie Nicholas looks ahead to Man United's final-day clash with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium
Charlie Nicholas is tipping Manchester United to book their place in the Premier League’s top four with a 1-1 draw at Leicester City on the final day of the season on Sunday.
The Red Devils head into the game looking to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with West Ham United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night as they were forced to come from a goal down to earn a point at their home ground.
As things stand, Manchester United are in third place in the Premier League table and they must simply avoid defeat against Leicester City in order to guarantee a place in next season’s Champions League.
Leicester City, meanwhile, know that a victory over the Red Devils would see them finish above Manchester United in the top four this season, with Brendan Rodgers’ men currently one point behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side heading into Sunday’s showdown.
Former Arsenal star Nicholas believes that Manchester United have what it takes to claim a draw at the King Power Stadium on Friday night, despite him admitting that they were “awful” against West Ham United in midweek.
Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Nicholas said: “If I’m being honest in the way the league’s worked out, they’re not my teams but I’ve got great respect for the way this head-to-head has worked out.
“I did Manchester United on Wednesday and thought they were awful. Even with the speed and movement up front, I thought Paul Pogba was poor, Bruno Fernandes had his worst game and looked like he was running on empty.
“Then I look at Leicester – and to be fair to them, they probably deserve the top four for what they’ve done this season – but of course, you don’t do it in the early part of the season, you do it now.
“They do look stretched, really stretched. Everything is geared towards looking at Jamie Vardy, they’re missing James Maddison.
“United have that cushion, so Leicester have to go for the win, which doesn’t change a lot for Brendan Rodgers, but they’ll want to keep it tight for the first half hour and then see how the land lies.
“Manchester United know how to get a result from a game like this, though. I think it’ll be tense and dramatic, but I think they’ll get there, they’ll get a draw.”
Manchester United have won three and drawn two of their last three games in the Premier League, and they were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea FC in the FA Cup semi-finals last weekend.
The Red Devils will return to Europa League action on 5 August when they take on LASK in the return leg of their round of 16 clash.
