Leicester City’s good start to the 2020/21 Premier League season, has seen them take nine points from a possible twelve – with a historical 5-2 victory against Manchester City in the process.
From the opening four games, Leicester City have utilised three different formations; their usual 4-1-4-1, a 5-4-1, and also the 3-4-3 – the latter being the formation of choice in the loss against West Ham United. Although the number combinations display different models, there’s similarities between the formations, particularly the 5-4-1 and 3-4-3.
But, which formation is Leicester City’s best? Should Brendan Rodgers pick a single formation and stick with it, or is tactical flexibility a good avenue to delve down? Here are my thoughts.
First and foremost, Leicester City’s most recognised formation throughout Rodgers’ tenure is the 4-1-4-1, and it serves as an excellent “foundation” formation. What I mean by this is, all teams will have a formation they favour, in Rodgers’ case that’s the 4-1-4-1 – although I’d argue it plays more like a 4-3-3 with the attacking nature of both wingers.
The reason it’s an excellent “foundation” formation for the Foxes is that it utilises the squads best personnel whilst offering a balance in both attack and defence.
Within the formation, you provide support for frontman, Jamie Vardy, something previous manages have struggled to find – most notably, Claude Puel. Playing with three central midfielders has been almost a necessity over the last few years, as establishing dominance in the centre of the pitch with purely a double pivot is extremely difficult.
The triangle that is formed by having a defensive midfielder sat behind the double pivot, allows for balance in the composition and numerical neutrality or superiority. This also helps with creativity from central areas, allowing key players such as James Maddison and Youri Tielemans to flourish. Finally, your defensive four has solidity (especially with the defensive midfielder), yet still poses opportunities for the full-backs to maraud forward. Overall, I believe Rodgers has found a good balance with the 4-1-4-1.
I’m also of the belief that Leicester City have proven their worth in multiple formations, and thus should use this in their favour. The deployment of the 5-4-1 against Manchester City raised many eyebrows – including my own – but retrospectively, it was a brilliant way of neutralising the interior half-spaces Pep Guardiola’s teams have become recognised for exploiting.
However, I don’t think Rodgers should utilise a formation such as this, or a similar composition such as the 3-4-3, in games where the Foxes want to control the ball. I’ll be the first one to say that Leicester City’s loss to West Ham was individual errors rather than a system issue – and I stand by this ethos, but had the Foxes played in a 4-1-4-1/4-3-3, the progression of the ball through the midfield lines would’ve been a lot simpler.
There’s only two sides in the league that Rodgers should truly fear, Manchester City and Liverpool. In those games, a more cautious approach can have superb results, allow the opposition to control the ball, drag them out of position and into a high-line and use this space in transition. A perfect anecdote would be Aston Villa’s triumphant victory against Champions, Liverpool. I don’t necessarily think this was the issue of the high-line – like a lot of journalists and pundits have been saying, it was more personnel errors, but it’s a clear indication that the system used versus the Citizens could work against Liverpool.
Aside from those fixtures, the Foxes should remain confident in their flexible 4-1-4-1. It’s by far their most comfortable set-up and this adds assurance and confidence into their play. I wouldn’t delve too deeply into the loss against the Hammers, they’ve started deploying their 5-4-1 in a devastating fashion, the 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers adds further proof, but it’s difficult to analyse this formation and understanding how best to beat it, when they’ve only played three games in the system (prior to the game with us, it was only two matches).
Next up for the Foxes is Aston Villa. I worry that Rodgers saw the decimation of Liverpool from Dean Smith’s Villa and he’ll be wary to play the ball-controlling 4-1-4-1 – in case it leaves space for Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish to exploit in transition. Instead, he should see the attacking positives to playing a transitional 4-3-3, having Harvey Barnes running at Matty Cash, whilst Ayoze Pérez drops into the half-space behind Douglas Luiz.
To conclude, I think the Foxes look at their best in the 4-1-4-1/4-3-3, but have the resources and personnel at their disposal to fluctuate with other formations – when Rodgers sees fit. In my opinion, the wholesale formation changes should really only be for Manchester City and Liverpool, while games against Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves, and Chelsea would require minor tweaks, rather than
formation switches.