New Telegraph

Leicester vs Man United: Rodgers banks on Iheanacho to wreck Red Devils

Kelechi Iheanacho fired a stunning hattrick in Leicester City’s 5-0 rout of Sheffield United last Sunday and his Manager, Brendan Rodgers, will expect him to reproduce such devastating form as the Foxes attempt to end Manchester United’s dominance when the two sides clash in an FA Cup tie this weekend. Leicester have claimed the scalp of many top sides in England but Man United have remained a bogey team with eight of their last 10 clashes ending in victory for the Red Devils.

They drew the other two. Rodgers may feel this is the right time to end the voodoo but to wreck a Man United side, his men must all come to the party. Certainly, attention will be on Iheanacho who has been in the form of his career in recent weeks while helping Leicester to strengthen their grip on a top four position.

The striker not only scored in a third Premier League match in a row, but also netted the first Premier League hat trick of his career in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United. It means that the Nigerian has now scored five goals in his last three appearances after scoring against Burnley and Brighton. His season tally is now six, surpassing last year ’s return of five and only two behind his best haul in 2015/16 (eight). Rodgers wouldn’t have asked for a better time for Iheanacho to hit such form as the club’s talisman Jamie Vardy is enduring one of the longest drought of his career.

The Englishman has gone 15 games with just a single goal to his credit, a return that could have gotten the Foxes faithful so worried if not for the Nigerian’s efforts especially as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have been out injured. However, Vardy has instead formed a telepathic partnership with Iheanacho with the Nigerian delivering the goals.

The first two strikes of the Eagles striker’s treble were almost carbon copies of each other and they perfectly encapsulate the pair’s performance together. Former Tottenham star Jamie Redknapp attested to how impactful the combination has been when he said, “Iheanacho and Vardy together is an unlikely partnership but they have got 23 (goals) in 23 starts together, it is phenomenal really. They have caused the back three of Sheffield United all sorts of problems.” Undoubtedly, Man United have been boosted by their 1-0 defeat of AC Milan in the Europa Cup but if Vardy and Iheanacho put up a similar performance to what they showed last weekend, the Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s men could kiss the FA Cup goodbye.

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