Preview: Leicester City Vs Swansea City
Leicester City host an in-form Swansea City as they look to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Goodison Park.
Claude Puel’s side went into Wednesday night’s fixture against Everton as the clear favourites to maintain their unbeaten record this year and get all the three points, but a resurgent Toffees side, led by new signing Theo Walcott’s brilliance, ran comfortable winners at the end despite Jamie Vardy’s late penalty.
The scoreline may not be very reflective of how well Sam Allardyce’s side controlled the game, but it can’t be denied that they very good indeed and Leicester lacked that little something across all the areas on the pitch. They weren’t as good at the back as we have normally seen them since the turn of the year or as clinical up front (just two shots on target).
What’s the biggest of all the worries, however, is the absence of Riyad Mahrez, something that the Foxes must quickly accept and find a way to get over. It’s not easy to digest the fact that your best player won’t be around – and that too at such a crucial stage of the season – but it’s the truth for now, and they must cope with it.
When they take to the pitch at the King Power Stadium, the bigger challenge than Swansea City would perhaps be to prove that there is life after Riyad Mahrez.
Main Man
It might come across as a bit optimistic and bold, but Demarai Gray holds the potential to provide Leicester City with the spark that they’ve always looked to Mahrez to provide. He is far from the finished article, but he is getting better with every single minute of top-flight football that he gets to play.
The young Englishman has got the skill, the talent and the hunger to go with it, but what we now need is for him to show that he has the cojones to step up and lead the team.
Quotes
"“I think it’s great work,” said Claude Puel as he reflected on Carlos Carvalhal’s start to life at Swansea City.“I saw their wins against Liverpool and Arsenal. It was impressive because they defend very well with a strong defensive unit.“They stay with good organisation in front of their box and they wait for a mistake from the opponent to make a good counter attack. It’s a tough game to prepare for and to find a solution against this team.“After the recovery, they try to play and to start with the good football. It’s a good job and good work form the manager for these players.“We need to have a good concentration about this team. It’s not a surprise that they’ve won against great teams.”"
Next: Riyad Mahrez’s situation is a shambles – but who is to blame?
Line-up
Schmeichel; Amartey, Dragovic, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi, James, Albrighton, Gray, Okazaki; Vardy.