Emile Heskey: Leicester will beat Man United 2-1 and Vardy will score
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Leicester legend Emile Heskey reckons Claudio Ranieri’s heroic underdogs will pick up where they left off in Sunday’s Community Shield, by beating Jose Mourinho and his new-look Manchester United.
The Foxes have spent the summer enjoying the fruits of their labour, soaking up the sights, sounds and plaudits across the globe, from Thailand to LA.
But it’s back to business for Ranieri, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and the rest, as they face off against a Man United side looking to return to the top.
Leicester have appeared in the traditional curtain-raiser at Wembley once before – winning in 1971 – and ahead of this weekend’s fixture, we spoke exclusively to Heskey at the launch of Ladbrokes’ new partnership with the FA.
Heskey, who made almost 200 appearances for the Foxes, is fancying his hometown club to land another trophy on Sunday.
“I think Leicester will win 2-1 and I think that man Vardy will be on the scoresheet at Wembley,” the striker said.
“My other prediction is Ulloa to get a goal too,” Heskey added.
“He isn’t guaranteed a start, but he always makes an impact when he plays, and I think that will be the case on Sunday.”
As for the manager, Heskey is confident Ranieri won’t try anything unusual in the annual season-opener.
“Claudio will take Sunday’s game the same was as any other. He takes every game separately, and he’ll look at the way United might play, and how they have played in pre-season,” the former Leicester forward explained.
“Ranieri will look at United’s structure, and build his team to be as solid as possible around that. He doesn’t base his football on possession, it’s based on having a really tight unit and breaking from there, and within fix or seconds seconds getting a shot on goal.”
The Foxes are 16/5 to win the match in 90 minutes on Sunday, and 13/8 to lift the trophy by any means.
If you think Heskey is on to something with his predictions, it’s 12/1 Leicester win 2-1 in regular time, while it’s 50/1 Vardy scores first in a 2-1 win for the reigning Premier League champions.
The England international is 6/1 to score first and 9/4 anytime, while Ulloa is 9/1 first and 10/3 to bag any time in the 90.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
