Manchester City ended a difficult run of league form on 2 April 2025, when the Man City Vs Leicester City Lineups were confirmed at the Etihad Stadium for a Premier League midweek fixture carrying significant stakes in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
The fixture saw Pep Guardiola watch proceedings from the stands, serving a touchline ban, while thousands of City supporters delayed their entry to the ground in protest at the club’s ticket pricing policy, missing the opening minutes of a match City won with considerable ease.
Man City Vs Leicester City Lineups Confirmed At The Etihad
City were without injured top scorer Erling Haaland, who had suffered an ankle injury in the FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth days earlier, with Omar Marmoush tasked with leading the line in the Norwegian’s absence.
Leicester arrived in dire straits under Ruud van Nistelrooy, having lost their previous six Premier League matches without scoring a single goal, and were themselves without Abdul Fatawu through injury heading into the midweek fixture.
Man City Starting XI (4-2-3-1)
| # | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| GK | Ederson | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Matheus Nunes | Right Back |
| CB | Ruben Dias (c) | Centre Back |
| CB | Josko Gvardiol | Centre Back |
| LB | Nico O’Reilly | Left Back |
| CM | Nico González | Central Midfield |
| CM | Ilkay Gündogan | Central Midfield |
| RM | Savinho | Right Midfield |
| CAM | Jack Grealish | Attacking Midfield |
| LM | Jérémy Doku | Left Midfield |
| ST | Omar Marmoush | Striker |
Leicester City Starting XI (3-4-2-1)
| # | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| GK | Mads Hermansen | Goalkeeper |
| CB | James Justin | Centre Back |
| CB | Wout Faes | Centre Back |
| CB | Conor Coady | Centre Back |
| RWB | Victor Kristiansen | Right Wing Back |
| CM | Boubakary Soumaré | Central Midfield |
| CM | Wilfred Ndidi | Central Midfield |
| LWB | Luke Thomas | Left Wing Back |
| SS | Patson Daka | Second Striker |
| SS | Bilal El Khannouss | Second Striker |
| ST | Jamie Vardy (c) | Striker |
Substitutions
| Team | Off | On | Minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man City | Savinho | Phil Foden | 60′ |
| Man City | Jack Grealish | Oscar Bobb | 69′ |
| Man City | Nico González | Rico Lewis | 75′ |
| Man City | Jérémy Doku | Kevin De Bruyne | 75′ |
| Man City | Ilkay Gündogan | Mateo Kovacic | 80′ |
| Leicester | Patson Daka | Stephy Mavididi | 55′ |
| Leicester | Bilal El Khannouss | Jordan Ayew | 66′ |
| Leicester | Wilfred Ndidi | Oliver Skipp | 66′ |
| Leicester | Jamie Vardy | Famara Diedhiou | 75′ |
Unused Substitutes
Man City: Ortega Moreno, Bernardo, Reis, McAtee
Leicester: Stolarczyk, Coulibaly, Okoli, Ricardo, Buonanotte, De Cordova-Reid
Grealish Ends Long Scoring Drought Before Marmoush Doubles Advantage
Jack Grealish settled any early nerves when he found the net in the second minute, registering his first Premier League goal in approximately 16 months after being given a central attacking role in Haaland’s absence, with the England winger capitalising on a crisp passing sequence to open the scoring.
Leicester showed early signs of resistance and El Khannouss curled a shot that tested Ederson, while the City crowd’s delayed arrival meant thousands of supporters missed the opening goal entirely as they protested outside the ground over ticketing costs.
Marmoush continued his impressive adaptation to Premier League football in the second half, pouncing on a defensive mix-up in the Leicester backline to add a second goal that put the contest well beyond doubt and extended City’s record of positive results in Haaland’s absence.
Match Statistics
| Stat | Man City | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 0 |
| Possession | ~66% | ~34% |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 0 |
| Total Shots | 12 | 2 |
| Corners | 6 | 2 |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 1 |
Goal Timeline
| Time | Player | Team | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2′ | Jack Grealish | Man City | Open Play |
| 55′ | Omar Marmoush | Man City | Open Play |
Man City Vs Leicester City Lineups Underline Contrasting Trajectories
The victory moved City into fourth place in the Premier League table with 51 points from 30 games, keeping their Champions League qualification hopes very much alive heading into the final stretch of the season.
Leicester’s position remained desperately precarious, with the Foxes sitting in 19th place on just 17 points, now 12 points adrift of safety and facing the very real prospect of relegation back to the Championship after a single top-flight campaign.
The defeat extended Leicester’s run of consecutive league losses to seven, all without scoring, a statistic that surpassed all recent precedents and underlined the scale of the challenge facing van Nistelrooy ahead of a brutal run of fixtures against Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool.
