Jamie Vardy has gone four games without scoring and has only two goals in the previous 14 PL games. Should Leicester City’s striker be dropped next game?
The Foxes welcome Crystal Palace on Saturday to King Power Stadium hoping to rejuvenate their season and rescue their Champions League bid. After suffering their second straight defeat on Wednesday at Everton, failure to win against Palace could see City drop to fifth.
Vardy, who started the season in sizzling form, has only netted twice in 2020 and has failed to muster any close chances for himself. With the absence of James Maddison in the starting line-up against Chelsea and Everton, service to the Fox has been limited.
With Palace upcoming this weekend, a team Vardy has only scored twice against, there have been calls for the fan-favourite to be replaced in the starting line-up for Kelechi Iheanacho. After his half-time introduction at Goodison Park, Iheanacho grabbed his first league goal since the end of December and was one of a very few players who shined.
This article analyses why Vardy’s exclusion could benefit the Foxes ahead of their final six games and why giving Vardy on later in the game against Roy Hodgson’s men could cause more damage to the south-London team.
Rodgers’ dilemma
Following the 1-0 FA Cup dumping of Chelsea last weekend, Brendan Rodgers spoke about his striker and claimed the singling out he receives is “unfair”. Before Iheanacho’s lucky strike against Everton, Leicester had only scored one goal with Vardy only mustering four shots on target.
Sat on 19 Premier League goals, it seems teams have stiffened the threat that Vardy offers. Playing on the shoulder of the last defender has been more difficult for Vardy, with Brighton and Watford both setting up in two deep blocks of four.
With Vardy failing to deliver, it is fair to see that is partly why the Foxes have their Champions League qualification up for grabs. In Dominic Well’s article about the striker, Vardy has a combined xG (Expected goals) of 0.25 from the three league games already played.
Against Watford, he had a 0.18 xG, a 0.07 xG and a dreadful 0.00 xG against Everton. This shows that he has seen a drop in his influence since the opening game against Watford.
The decision to drop Vardy would cause a subject of conversation for Blue Army supporters, with the striker being many Leicester City fans’ favourite. But right now, the opportunities are dry for him. Against Everton, 35 crosses were attempted for Vardy to feed on against Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Yerry Mina. You won’t be shocked to be told only three crosses were successful.
In the second-half, there was a number of different occasions where the ball was at Maddison’s feet in the pocket between Everton’s defence and midfield, something Vardy strives off. However, the ball just didn’t come. Is this Vardy’s fault? No.
Even when the striker is banging in goals left, right and centre, he rarely touches the ball often. With the fact that opposition teams are succeeding in nullifying Vardy’s presence, the option to introduce him against tired legs may be the better one.
Iheanacho solo or with Vardy
Since Rodgers arrived in England from Celtic last February, he has favoured 4-1-4-1, meaning playing a lone striker. Like stated above, teams have began to counter how Rodgers prefers his side to play.
Against Everton, when Iheanacho and Maddison were introduced, Rodgers opted to a diamond formation, with only one winger. With Maddison playing as a roaming playmakaer and handed a free roam across the midfield, it provided Iheanacho and Vardy with the chance to play together.
The Nigerian’s goal came from a Vardy flick-on and against Aston Villa in December, the pair worked extremely well together to dismantle the team in claret and blue. Although it didn’t happen against Everton, playing with Iheanacho, Vardy is more likely to find himself with a chance due to the aggressive attacking style of play.
However, with Vardy continuing to be isolated, could Iheanacho be handed a start as the single striker himself? In my opinion, yes. In Merseyside, the striker demonstrated his dribbling prowess along with his determination by often playing short passes before running onto the pass played into space.
With the creativity being short in midfield at the moment, Iheanacho has the ability to play as a deep-lying forward. Rodgers has the option to start with him and Maddison, with the space behind the striker being open for Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez to run behind.
Saturday provides almost the perfect test for the two wingers. In their 1-0 defeat to Burnley, Palace lined-up with Joel Ward, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill and Patrick van Aaanholt in their defence. With van Aanholt’s ability to venture forward, this will leave Barnes to take advantage of the slow-legged Cahill and Dann.
Their midfield three of Luka Milivojevic, Cheikhou Kouyate and James McArthur will mean Iheanacho coming deep with assisting the likes of Maddison and Youri Tielemans to break past the midfield line and provide through balls for the Leicester City wingers to run onto.