Man United vs Leicester City predicted as Ruud van Nistelrooy gets perfect start

Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his first Manchester United game as head coach later today when United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup.

After an extremely poor start to the season, Erik ten Hag was sacked as Manchester United manager, leaving assistant manager Van Nistelrooy to take charge as interim head coach while the search for a permanent manager gets under way. Van Nistelrooy's first test comes against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, where victory would secure a spot in the competition's quarter-finals.

United won 7-0 against Barnsley last time out in the Carabao Cup – one of United's four wins across all competitions this season. With a tough clash against Chelsea on the weekend, Van Nistelrooy may be tempted to rotate his squad, though Noussair Mazraoui could be touch-and-go after coming off injured in the 2-1 loss to West Ham on the weekend.

So, can Van Nistelrooy kick off his tenure as United boss with a win? Let's take a look.

Man United vs Leicester City Carabao Cup score predicted

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.

We predict that United could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Rashford, Hojlund, Garnacho.

We predict that the Foxes could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Ward; Pereira, Coady, Okoli, Thomas; Skipp, Winks; Fatawu, Buonanotte, Cordova-Reid; Edouard.

United started on top at Old Trafford, with Van Nistelrooy's front three causing all sorts of problems in the early stages for Leicester. The pressure from the hosts started to mount, and 29 minutes in, United took a deserved lead.

Diogo Dalot won back possession on the right before slipping a pass in behind the Leicester defence for Marcus Rashford to chase. The Englishman latched onto the ball before feeding Rasmus Hojlund through on goal, and the striker unselfishly squared the ball to Alejandro Garnacho who fired home from close range.

Leicester introduced Jamie Vardy at half-time after Odsonne Edouard went off injured, and he almost made an instant impact, heading onto the post from Bobby Decordova-Reid's near post cross. After the early chance, the Foxes struggled to trouble the United defence, and with 15 minutes to go, the hosts grabbed a second to give themselves some breathing space.

Rashford was instrumental in the move once again, with the winger skipping past two challenges on the right before breaking into the box and firing the ball into the feet of Hojlund. The striker shifted the ball onto his right foot before taking aim, and his powerful strike beat the 'keeper with ease to make it 2-0.

Van Nistelrooy's side defended well in the closing stages to hold off of Leicester's last-ditch attacks, with United picking up a convincing win and a clean sheet at Old Trafford.

EA FC 25 predicted final score: Man United 2-0 Leicester City

What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!

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