Three reasons why Leicester City must switch to a 3-4-1-2

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Jermain Defoe of AFC Bournemouth controls the ball under pressure of Harry Maguire of Leicester City during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Leicester City at Vitality Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /

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No Danny Drinkwater, no N’Golo Kante, no 4-4-2

Any manager in the world won’t think twice before employing a 4-4-2 if he has two Duracell-like midfielders in Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante. Why Claudio Ranieri was so successful with this system in the title-winning campaign is because he had these two in the middle of the park, and just as he lost Kante, he could never quite make a 4-4-2 work.

This season, Leicester have lost Danny Drinkwater as well, meaning that they don’t have much agility, quality or a workhorse-like man in the middle anymore. The state of Leicester City’s midfield being as is, their formation of choice can’t be successful, ever.

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A 4-4-2 requires copious amounts of discipline and organisation, and with Andy King and Wilfred Ndidi dictating terms for you, that’s not possible, since they leave way too much space in front of the defence as well as giving the opponent the chance to wreak havoc between the lines. A back three solves that problem.