Wolves 0-0 Leicester: a hard-fought, deadlocked showdown

Leicester City’s away trip to the Molineux Stadium to face the Wolves saw plenty of tussles between the two sides but eventually ended in a deadlocked scoreless draw.

The predatory clash between the foxes and the wolves is always an encounter to watch out for. Both the teams are similar in many ways yet so different! Before this match, this fixture has had two scoreless draws in the last season and a win for the King Power club in November this season.

The rewards were high for LCFC as a win would have taken them to equal their points with Manchester United who is currently at second in the Premier League. It would also have benefited as currently, the foxes are in the middle at third with a possibility of going fourth if Liverpool wins tonight against their clash with Manchester City.

Manager Brendan Rogers went with an unchanged line-up from the last matchday win against Fulham. Nuno Espirito’s Wolverhampton Wanderers went with a deep defensive line against Leicester City’s high backline with LCFC enjoying 56 per cent of the possession. Wolves played the game with three centre-backs that went deep into the box to nullify the foxes’ attacks. Jamie Vardy was back in the squad but started on the bench for this match after his hernia operation, quite ready to be utilized for the manager if needed be.

Leicester City enjoyed much more possession in the first half with Wolves making occasional run-ins cutting through the flanks. Pedro Neto had some impressive sprints and crosses into the box for his teammates.

Positives

Harvey Barnes was spectacular in this contest along with James Maddison. Barnes was creating all sorts of problems for the Wolves defenders from the left-wing with his signature cut-ins.

A few weeks ago Hamza Choudhury was being considered for a loan to Newcastle but he made his return into the first team after Wilfred Ndidi was out with an injury and he was clinical in a CDM role today and it certainly looks like he has rejuvenated himself and won over Roger’s trust in him. Hamza along with James Justin held off Adama Traoré at bay for the most part of the game.

Vardy was introduced into the second half of the game, he did not show any sign of rust and was back to his usual form. Vardy displayed why he was missed for 3 prior weeks by the fans and how crucial he is for this team, as soon as he was on the pitch Leicester’s game certainly elevated with him creating more chances, making the runs either to create an opportunity or to draw away the markers along with him to build certain pockets of gaps in the Wolves’ defence.

Jonny Evans, paired with Söyüncü, had a good game as he was far more dominant for the foxes in the second half where his defending looked more tight than in the first half where he was booked with a yellow for quite a dangerous challenge in the middle of the pitch.

Concerns

The primary concern for the foxes in the first half was a possible hamstring injury for Jonny Evans, however, he came on the pitch in the second half and it seemed alright then, in terms of defending Wolves won eight corners which are especially always a concern for LCFC, as it has been the pattern of this season, to not achieve to score or defend set-pieces.

There were some close shaves on this occasion as well. Kasper Schmeichel made only save was a breathtaking one as the Wolves substitute Fabio Silva was in a very comfortable position to score.

Kelechi Iheanacho is still lacking consistency to be a threat up front and Perez has not been his best for quite some time, it certainly looks like he needs to reflect on his performances.

What’s next for Leicester City?

The East Midlands side faces Graham Potter’s Brighton & Hove Albion for their FA Cup clash of Round 5 at the King Power Stadium on 11th Feb followed by a visit from the reigning Premier League champion Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool on 13th Feb.