Foxes of Leicester
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Preview: Leicester City vs Everton

By Jack Mceachen

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Caraboa Cup Fourth Round match between Leicester City and Leeds United at The King Power Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Caraboa Cup Fourth Round match between Leicester City and Leeds United at The King Power Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City kick off Claude Puel’s reign at home to an Everton side that are currently managerless and will be led by caretaker manager David Unsworth.

Leicester City

A new mann and a new era for Leicester City. Claude Puel has taken over from Craig Shakespeare in a bid to steer the Foxes away from the relegation zone and back into the top half.

Before Shakespeare left, the Foxes drew 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion, but since then, they have beaten Swansea City (A) 2-1 and advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals by beating Leeds United 3-1.

Under the Frenchman, Leicester could change into a side with a patient build-up play which could suit Vicente Iborra among others but would be a drastic change from the side we have become accustomed to in the past few years.

SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 21: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates after the Premier League match between Swansea City and Leicester City at Liberty Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 21: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates after the Premier League match between Swansea City and Leicester City at Liberty Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

Man to watch out for

Jamie Vardy, while being the Foxes’ main man, will definitely have something to prove to his new manager. Leicester City have spent £55 million on strikers to sit on the bench behind Vardy, and he will want to show his new manager that he deserves to start ahead of them.

Quotes

"“For me it’s a great Club and a fantastic opportunity. I have a good feeling to come here and to be a Fox,”  Claude Puel said, speaking in his first pre-match press conference at his new job.“It is great to be back [in England] and a great opportunity, I had one season here and I very much appreciated that. The players, the staff and the media.“There are great managerial adversaries in England. It is a really top-level league; it is almost like playing a Champions League fixture every week.“This Club has a young feel about them. They got promoted to the Premier League just a few seasons ago and they have made rapid progress to win the title.“We want to keep the identity of Leicester City and to bring more consistency into proceedings.”"

Possible XI

Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs; Mahrez, Ndidi, Iborra, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.

Everton

Everton have started the season in a similar fashion to Leicester and have not performed as well as possible because of a tough opening schedule which led to the sacking of Ronald Koeman.

Koeman was sacked following a 5-2 loss to Arsenal, leaving his side in the relegation zone, but just a single point behind Leicester.

Next: Claudio Ranieri repeating Leicester City heroics at Nantes

The Dutchman’s side lacked pace in forward areas, as he tried to mash his summer signings into the same side by playing Gylfi Sigurdsson out wide or Wayne Rooney up front, positions where they struggle in.

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton looks on during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge on October 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton looks on during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge on October 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /

Man to watch out for

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is one of Everton’s few forwards with pace and has become one of the most influential players in his side.

He is yet to score in the Premier League this season, but he has shown a lot of promise. The Englishman can stretch defences, which leaves gaps for other players to cause damage.

Quotes

"“I saw that in the whole performance the other night,” David Unsworth said, referring to his side’s midweek loss to Chelsea.“Particularly in the second half with the amount of chances we created, our dominance, the desire to really play on the front foot and put in a performance. I said to the players after the game, if we perform like that we will be absolutely fine and start climbing the table very soon.“I like a smile around the place, an atmosphere where players feel free to express themselves but at the same time, within a team structure where the minimum requirement is 100% effort.“That’s what we like to do and something we’ve always done, whichever team I’ve been responsible for. That will be no different with the first team.”"

Possible XI

Pickford; Holgate, Keane, Williams, Baines; Gueye, Schneiderlin; Vlasic, Rooney, Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin.

Past meetings

Last season, Leicester City lost both meetings to Everton in the Premier League but did get a win over their opponents in the FA Cup third round.

In that win, Ahmed Musa came off the bench to score twice after Leicester went behind to a Romelu Lukaku goal.