Is there a blueprint forming on how to beat Leicester at home?

Scott Parker’s Fulham are the latest team to arrive at The King Power Stadium and leave with all three points, but what similarities were shown from Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City that made previous losses a blueprint for the fixture?

Leicester City have had an excellent start to the 2020/21 Premier League season, with some extraordinary results away from home. But, finding the same performance levels at home has been a question Brendan Rodgers is yet to find the answer for.

So far this season, the Foxes have gained zero points from three home fixtures against; West Ham, Aston Villa, and Fulham. Yet as a complete contrast, have gained maximum points on the road versus teams such as; Leeds United, Arsenal, and Manchester City. Which begs the question, what’s going wrong at home for Leicester City?

First and foremost, I’d like to address the structure – formation – and outline why that isn’t the issue, in my opinion. The 3-4-3 formation can be considered negative in its defensive stages, and rightly so, most teams that utilise the formation drop into a 5-4-1 out of possession, and Rodgers’ Leicester City are no different. But, during the losses at home, the Foxes have averaged 62.3% possession, meaning the formation is predominantly in its attacking structure (3-4-3) as Leicester City are controlling the ball.

Against Fulham, the wing-backs – two of the players who shift between making the formation a 3-4-3 and 5-4-1, James Justin and Luke Thomas, operated as wide-midfielders for the entirety of the half. Particularly Thomas, who appeared to be told to maintain an advanced position – similar to that of Harvey Barnes, as a way of occupying Ola Aina (Fulham’s right-back). This meant that the Foxes had three/four “central-midfielders”, two wide-players and a forward in the attacking third for their attacks – I’d say that’s the complete opposite of negative.