Preview: Manchester United vs. Leicester City

A lot has happened since the last time that Manchester United and Leicester City met in the Premier League.

A famous 5-3 victory at the King Power Stadium in September, in which they twice came from behind, took the Foxes to seventh and left United languishing in 12th.

Ahead of the reverse fixture at Old Trafford on Saturday, Leicester are bottom of the table, and United fourth having found their feet under Louis van Gaal.

However, there was little evidence of their pre-Christmas improvement last weekend as the Red Devils were held to a 0-0 draw by Cambridge United in the FA Cup.

Van Gaal blamed everything from the pitch to the referee, the weather conditions to his horoscope for United's failure to beat their League Two opposition, whom they host in a fourth-round replay on Tuesday.

While the 11-time winners were being humbled at the Abbey Stadium, Leicester were making their way into the last 16 of the tournament by coming from behind to surprise Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Leonardo Ulloa and Jeffrey Schlupp scored in the final 10 minutes to secure Nigel Pearson's men passage to the next round, although their priority this season must remain trying to salvage top-flight survival.

A run of one defeat in four games either side of the New Year has pulled the East Midlands outfit to within three points of safety ahead of a trip to United which marks the beginning of a daunting set of fixtures.

City have to face Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea and Manchester City all during the next month, but the Foxes must retain their momentum and pick up points during that period if they are to have any hope of staying up.

Andrej Kramaric is expected to make his first start since his club-record arrival from Croatia, with Pearson perhaps switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation to accommodate a striker who had been firmly on Chelsea's radar.

Ben Hamer, Paul Konchesky and Esteban Cambiasso will return after being rested for cup duty, but Kasper Schmeichel and Matthew Upson are injured, while the banned Matty James and Riyad Mahrez are also unavailable.

Youngsters Adnan Januzaj and James Wilson are the most likely to be on the chopping block for United after failing to impress in the FA Cup, with Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie poised for recalls in attacking areas.

Juan Mata may have to settle for a place on the bench now that Angel di Maria and Marouane Fellaini are back to full fitness, but Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans are still nursing injuries and are not in contention.

The Red Devils have won their last five home matches against Leicester without conceding a single goal.

Man United:

Form in Premier League: DWDDLW Form in all competitions: DDWLWD

Possible starting lineup: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind; Carrick, Fellaini, Di Maria, Rooney; Van Persie, Falcao

Leicester:

Form in Premier League: LLWDWL Form in all competitions: WDWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Hamer; Simpson, Wasilewski, Morgan, Konchesky; Drinkwater, Cambiasso; Schlupp, Kramaric, Vardy; Ulloa

Sports Mole says: 3-0