Leicester and Man City play out a goalless draw at the King Power in the penultimate match of the Gameweek. The Foxes have now drawn blanks in each of their last two, whilst for City, Sergio Aguero’s minutes continue to be managed by Manuel Pellegrini.

Foxes Hold Firm at the King Power

Leicester City delivered a positive response to their 1-0 defeat at Anfield, holding Manchester City to a goalless stalemate at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes have now recorded three clean sheets in their previous seven match-ups, conceding just five goals against Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool in the other four fixtures. Ally this with their schedule across the next four Gameweeks (BOU, tot, avl, STO) and their sub-4.5 defensive starters could make for profitable pick-ups.

Leicester’s second consecutive blank also marked the first time they’ve failed to net in 15 home encounters. The East Midlands outfit tallied the fifth-fewest attempts (37) and third-fewest shots inside the box (23) over the past four Gameweeks but that, in part, could be attributed to the fixture difficulty.

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy mustered just seven attempts apiece during that period but will be relishing the prospect of facing two sides (Aston Villa and Bournemouth) that rank joint-second for goals conceded (34) this term. The latter’s owners will be relieved after he avoided another yellow card last night – Vardy remains on four bookings and has successfully navigated the Suspension Tightrope, with the limit extending to ten on New Year’s Day.

City’s Away Worries Continue

The Sky Blues’ stalemate at Leicester marked the fourth time in five road clashes that they’ve failed to register a goal. In fact, Manuel Pellegrini’s men haven’t won away from the Etihad since a victory over Crystal Palace in Gameweek 5. Certainly, nursing Sergio Aguero – who was afforded a 63-minute run-out this time around – back to full fitness and form will be key to rectifying that shortcoming as they gear up for a procession of favourable trips (wat, whu, sun, new) in the coming months. Having failed to play at home to Sunderland last weekend, Aguero looks likely to retain his starting berth for the upcoming trip to Watford.

After the match, Pellegrini insisted he will continue to limit Aguero’s pitch time until he’s back to full match sharpness:

“We know Kun needs three or four games to return his performance after an injury and I am sure we are going to see the best Kun in the second half of the season. I never talk about individual performances because we are a team. We know, because we know him and after all this year he needs two or three games to return to his normal performance. He needs these minutes. I don’t want him to play more than 65 or 67 minutes. It will be very useful to see the best Kun in the first round of the second half of the season.”

On a more positive note, Man City carded their first clean sheet in the absence of Vincent Kompany – who’s expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks following his injury setback. Head-to-heads against Crystal Palace (home) and West Ham United (away) harbour strong shut-out potential, but owners of Aleksandar Kolarov and Bacary Sagna will be wary of rotation, given that their respective counterparts are back in the mix.