Foxes of Leicester
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Southampton v Leicester: Three wins until Champions League!

By Elliot Mackness

Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City (Photo by Neil Hall - Pool/Getty Images)
Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City (Photo by Neil Hall - Pool/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City
Southampton’s Japanese midfielder Takumi Minamino (C) vies with Leicester City’s English midfielder James Maddison (L) (Photo by MICHAEL STEELE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

A typical first half

Leicester City have an unchanged starting XI once more, three matches in a row, three great performances in a row. Kasper Schmeichel, Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu, Wesley Fofana, Timothy Castagne, Luke Thomas, Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, James Maddison, Jamie Vardy, and Kelechi Iheanacho.

A strong line-up, with the Vardy-Iheanacho partnership continuing to payoff for Brendan Rodgers, as the former has become a playmaker, the latter a clinical goal scorer.

20:00: Kickoff at St. Mary’s stadium, where the famous 0-9 win occurred only recently. Cries for handball almost immediately as the ball brushes a Southampton FC player; hopefully we can have a lively performance today.

20:01: Offside goal for Southampton, but a beautiful long ball finds its way passed the Foxes defensive line, a warning sign if that does not improve.

20:04: freekick for Leicester City as Jonny Evans is fouled after winning the ball. Not much in that, but still enough for a freekick. Not much comes from the freekick, though a clear indication of Luke Thomas’ role in this match, he is playing very high up the pitch.

20:06: a very good opportunity for Southampton, as they cut through the midfield. Thomas saves the Foxes from red faces. Another chance immediately, with a terribly taken shot towards Schmeichel.

(RED CARD) 20:09: Freekick to the Foxes in a dangerous position, Jannik Vestergaard is sent off for denying Vardy an obvious opportunity on goal after a major error gave the ball away. Can we get a goal though?

20:13: Maddison misses the goal. Not a bad shot though. The opening 13 minutes have been dominated by sloppy passing. Substitution already for Southampton as they look to repair their defence with another player slotting in.

20:17: A fine shot on Schmeichel’s goal by Nathan Redmond. Ten men Southampton look up to the task at the moment.

20:20: Corner to Leicester City, as the Foxes are dominating possession and controlling the game completely after the scare. Poorly taken though, and no goal comes from a corner once more.

20:22: Another corner for the away side. This time well taken but comes to nothing, as the ball returns to the ‘Great Dane’.

20:28: A strange freekick for Southampton, as Takumi Minamino rolls over Maddison and wins a freekick. Nothing comes from it.

Thirty minutes defined by domination and trying to break through a very low defensive block. The only solace has been the continued danger-sense of Wesley Fofana, intercepting and clearing at crucial opportunities to help prevent a counter attack.

20:39: Corner to the away side once more. Taken short then kicked far too long. The opening 40 minutes have been lethargic and tough; they seem to be having a difficult time breaking through the nine man defence with a tenth waiting for a counter.

20:42: Another corner. How many are we going to get before we score one?

0-0 at half time, with very little currently happening. Tactically, Brendan Rodgers’ side remained in their 3-4-1-2 formation despite an early sending off for Vestergaard. Southampton have gone into a highly defensive low block, which is frustrating the Foxes.

A change of formation is needed in my opinion, with a defender coming off and an actual winger coming on to help stretch play and penetrate their defence.