Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers played out their third goalless draw in four games, as Nuno Espírito Santo’s side reverted to their trusted 3-4-3 formation to neutralise the Foxes attacking prowess.
In recent interviews, Nuno has spoke to the media about Wolverhampton Wanderers ambitions of becoming a European side and challenging for one of the top four places in the Premier League. To do so, he’s admitted his side need to transition away from the defensive three/five, that they’ve become infamous for playing during their time in the league, and start instigating and controlling games with a back four.
However, with a generic underperformance inside the four-back formation and a slight inferiority complex (when compared with the Leicester City), he entrusted the three-back – which played more like a five out of possession. For the Foxes this was quite the compliment, both sides have been likened to each other during their rises to “top half” Premier League clubs and both have aspirations of pushing that motion even further.
Unfortunately, Leicester City didn’t have the answers for dissecting this system. Wolves’ three lines played in a compact block, whilst also spreading the width of the pitch (due to their wing-backs and winger combinations). The way to play through the Wolves system was to occupy spaces between these lines – albeit slim pickings – and play diagonally through them.
Instead, the attacking four (Kelechi Iheanacho, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Ayoze Pérez) spent too much time occupying the defensive line. None of the mentioned players stretch the opposition by making runs behind them, in fact, the majority of them like to offer for the ball with their back to goal and connect. This was easy to defend for a few reasons, the dropping movements were static – and often covered by the midfield line. There was little space to find, especially considering how congested the central portions of the pitch were – Wolves has squeezed the pitch and the Foxes didn’t make enough decoy runs or in-to-out movements to displace their block.
As is the case when Leicester City dominate the ball – without any conviction, the opposition had the better of the chances. It’s easier to create shooting opportunities when playing for transitions, and the Foxes were often disorganised after a turnover allowing either Pedro Neto or Adama Traoré to progress play in the flanks. I’ve also highlighted these individuals as the Wolves game plan was solely focused on them winning their individual battles versus a Leicester City full-back in a one-on-one – something they did often.
Whereas, Leicester City had to try and create overloads or utilise pinpoint passing exchanges to even dislodge a single line of Wolves’ block – making chance creation very difficult. It’s in games like these, where I feel the Foxes should play “transition heavy”. Force the ball into the opposition half and look to reclaim the ball in a transition.
In the early moments of the game, Jonny Evans was making a lot of long-range passes into Iheanacho – which the Nigerian was struggling to win – but Maddison would often pick up the “second ball”. It’s this kind of direct style, which often looks unconventional/not working, that can be beneficial. Maddison would collect the ball, often goal-side of the Wolves pivot and he’d have a chance to create something for the Foxes. I’m unsure why, but Leicester City stopped utilising this route after the opening ten minutes and it made the attacks a lot more predictable from that moment onwards.
During the second-half, Wolves became more dominant and found a lot of joy through Traoré. This isn’t slander on James Justin, who I thought dealt with the winger well, he’s just unplayable at times. A slight alteration – shifting Hamza Choudhury over to the defensive-left, allowed for a numerical advantage in the Foxes favour – eventually neutralising Traoré.
As the game progressed into the final stages, after the introduction of both Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton, Leicester City began to show a bit more quality. Unsurprisingly, the two substitutes nearly connected to steal all three points, but Vardy‘s glancing header was fractions wide of Rui Patricio’s post. In all honesty, it would’ve been harsh to leave Molineux with a win – the Foxes didn’t perform to the esteemed heights of the previous game (versus Fulham), and we’re probably happier with the point by the end of the game.
Up next, Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup. I think we’ll see a similar system (4-2-3-1) with a fairly strong XI. Brendan Rodgers will need to juggle the squads fitness and dexterity as they face the Champions at the weekend, whilst still wanting to progress in the cup.