Leicester City Vs Southampton: Opponent watch

Leicester City travel to Southampton on Wednesday in a bid to win their fourth successive Premier League game.

The St. Mary’s stadium is a ground that Leicester boss Claude Puel knows well, having spent last season in charge of the Saints before being let go in the summer.

But what can the French manager expect on his return to Southampton?

What to expect

Southampton are without a win in their last three games, but two of those have been against Manchester City and Arsenal. The Saints have picked up two points from their last three games.

Mauricio Pellegrino’s side led for most of the game in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal last time out, and had a host of chances to seal the win but couldn’t hold onto their lead.

The Argentine manager has come under criticism from fans because of their style of football, similarly to what Puel was subject to during his time at the club.

Tactics

Southampton under Pellegrino have spent most of the season in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but had to switch that shape for the draw against Arsenal following an injury to right-back Cedric Soares, who needs a late decision on whether he’ll play against Leicester City.

Against Arsenal, Pellegrino’s side lined up in a 5-4-1 shape without the ball as James Ward-Prowse moved further back into a right wing-back role and Jack Stephens – who played as a right-back when Southampton had possession – tucked inside to make a back three with Maya Yoshida and Virgil van Djik.

Southampton are a team that like to dominate possession, and average at 53.5% this season – sixth highest in the league – and have only conceded 19 goals this season, further reflecting that their problems have not been at the back.

Strengths

The Saints are extremely good at controlling the middle of the field, indicated by their high possession statistics. In Oriol Romeu and one of Mario Lemina or Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, their midfield has the whole package.

The pair don’t need to venture forward too much either, with the likes of Dusan Tadic, Nathan Redmond and Sofiane Boufal ahead of them, so they don’t often negate their position in the middle of the park.

Weaknesses

Until recently, Southampton have struggled to score goals. However they haven’t failed to score in any of their past four games.

Since installing Charlie Austin as the team’s starting striker, the goals have been more frequent but they still definitely are capable of reverting back to a side that looks scared to turn possession into goals.

Key matchups

Wilfried Ndidi and Vicente Iborra against Southampton’s midfield duo will be the key battle, and could well decide the result.

Next: Southampton vs Leicester City: What happened last time?

The Foxes’ tandem in midfield have been very impressive recently, particularly in the 3-2 win over Newcastle United, and will need to be on top of their game once again.