Wolves vs Leicester: Why the foxes can dominate!
Wolverhampton Wanderers
host Leicester City this weekend, in a game live on Sky Sports. Join FoL as we analyse the form, statistics, and the path to victory for the Foxes.
On 7th February, the wolf pack will get another chance to dance with the fox pack. The previous version of this match was a 1-0 win for the Foxes at King Power. In this rematch, Leicester City are now in a position to push on and make this a 6-pointer.
First though, let us delve into Leicester’s last match – that against Fulham.
Leicester City and the ‘professional’ match
On the 30th November 2020, Leicester was humiliated 2-1 by Fulham at home. As I wrote in my ‘rematch, pre-match analysis’, Wednesday’s match away at Craven Cottage was important. It was revenge. This revenge was glorious; a 2-0 victory away.
So, please do check out the three things we learnt from that match, the player ratings, and another one of the previews my colleagues wrote preparing us for the match. Of note is how impressive this performance was. Despite the injuries. Despite losing the most consistent striker, the best defensive midfielder, and Wesley Fofana.
In my Leeds United post-match reaction, my two primary tactical concerns were the lack of a predatory or penetrative force for the Foxes. I posed that the Foxes had to either choose Iheanacho and a winger to link up with him, or suffer the same fate. Brendan played Iheanacho.
Must I say how impressed I was with him? There are several aspects to the game he brings which are different to Jamie Vardy. Firstly, he brings his intricate and technical first touch, allowing him to remove a defender from the equation. ‘Nacho did this to great effect for the second goal.
Second, Iheanacho brings high vertical ball retention. He keeps the ball high up the pitch. Using his strength, his long arms, and clever passing, he can help the Foxes to hang onto the ball when he receives it to foot. When he does not, his main strengths are not played to, and he looks ineffective.
Finally, he brings involvement. Something which Vardy does not do in abundance – due to his style more than anything – is to drop quite far deep and assist in build-up play. We saw Perez doing this too much and losing the ball too much while he was striker; ‘Nacho did not fall into this trap.
Beyond this, I would call the performance ‘professional’. I would be cautious to say we were excellent, because we did let several potential chances through the nets while playing very defensively. Once Amartey was brought on for Barnes at the 76th minute, the game looked thoroughly in our control.
All substitutions were defensive minded, or designed to nullify the primary threats of Fulham at that moment. Choudhury did amaze in the 60 minutes he had on the pitch, disrupting Anguissa and Tete excellently. His interventions were critical. Mendy was brought on once Anguissa was removed, this helped to provide positional awareness to maintain organisation in defence.
Overall, I am happy with this match, seven out of ten! So, onto the next match, against Wolves. Let us have a look at the form, defensive and offensive statistics, and how LCFC might find a victory in what will be a tough match.