Four Players to watch in the Man. Utd vs. Leicester

The curtain raiser for the 2016/17 English Premier League season comes up today at Wembley Stadium between league winners, Leicester City and FA Cup champions, Manchester United.

It is a new era for United with new manager, Jose Mourinho, while Leicester will hope that their fairytale from last season continues. Normally a friendly, this one won’t be a docile affair particularly because Mourinho would want to set down an early marker.

So here are four personal duels on the pitch that could determine the outcome of the match.

Wes Morgan vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ibrahimovic’s first act as a United player was to score an acrobatic goal against Galatasaray but on Sunday he will come up against the best defensive duo from last season – Morgan and Robert Huth [to be replaced by Marcin Wasilewski], who are both big and physical though Huth would not be starting because of last season’s altercation with Marouane Fellaini. We all know that the Swede loves a fight – so it would be a great duel or duels to watch.

Riyad Mahrez vs. Luke Shaw

The undoubted talisman for the Foxes and indisputably the best player in the EPL last season, Mahrez will test back-to-fitness Shaw very thoroughly on the Wembley pitch. Wily, creative and fast – Mahrez will test Shaw’s tactical readiness as the Algerian would try to free up the right wing by dragging Shaw in-field.

Danny Drinkwater vs. Henrikh Mkhitaryan

United have a new magician in Mkhitaryan while Leicester have a fire fighter in Drinkwater, who is a former United academy player. This confrontation depends on the shape favoured by Mourinho. But it would be instructive, as the Armenian midfielder seems to have quickly adapted to the pace after his transfer from Dortmund.

Jaime Vardy vs. Eric Bailly

Vardy will run all day and Bailly would need to be on his toes for all of 90 minutes if he is to contain the Foxes main scoring man, who scored 24 goals last season. Mourinho expects great things from Bailly and looks physically equipped for the enhanced physicality of the EPL.

The result would mean a lot to Leicester, whose manager, Ranieri, says he has a ‘wonderful feeling’ concerning their title defence while it would mean something for Mourinho to claim an early scalp.