Wycombe 1-0 Leicester: Positives from second Foxes pre-season fixture

After a goalless first pre-season outing versus Burton Albion, Leicester City travelled to Wycombe Wanderers to play their second fixture ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season, with the Foxes losing 1-0.

Despite failing to score over the two matches, there’s plenty of positives to analyse, including that of the additional game time for the entire squad. I will dissect a couple of interesting points from last night’s game against Wycombe throughout this article.

Firstly, there’s no need to panic surrounding the embedding of new signings. In the second game in a row, Patson Daka — Leicester’s marquee summer transfer — was quiet on-the-ball and with his actions. However, this time, instead of being the lone striker, Daka was accompanied by Foxes talisman, Jamie Vardy. It’s clear to see the similarities in play styles for the two forwards, both hugging the shoulders of the defensive line — with brief glimpses of dropping between the lines to connect play (often with those around them and not each other).

When you have two players — especially as forwards — that occupy similar areas, make almost identical runs/movements and often aim to utilise the advancing wingers and full-backs in connecting play, instead of the central areas, then it becomes difficult for them to create a connection themselves. It’s of course early days, and throughout their careers, they’ve both shown an aptitude for developing their games — and adapting to systems, so there’s every chance they’ll understand when to make complimentary movements/actions to facilitate each other.