Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers have got off to a stumbling start in the Premier League. Here are the key facts in stats and what they mean.
After seven games played, Leicester have won five games and lost two, defeating clubs such as Manchester City, Burnley, and Arsenal. This was the start to the 20/21 season.
By comparison, the opening seven games of the 21/22 season has seen three losses, two wins, and two draws. The Foxes sit 13th and look ridiculously out of form.
Of course, there are reasons for this. For this article though, I want to focus on the facts. How have we played from a statistical and stylistic standpoint, and who has been our most influential player.
For the stats, I have used Understat and Sofascore, and have been collating these statistics after every match played. Bear in mind that every stat I mention is an accumulation across every match. On the upcoming page, Foxes of Leicester looks at the data. Please click below to access that.
Leicester City’s dire time
Expected goals is the most important indicator of a team’s creativity, where xG Against is the most important indicator of their defensive output – how successful the squad is at either creating an opportunity or preventing them.
On xG, Rodgers’ King Power side have failed to out-create the opposition in five out of seven matches. They have only twice out created, and those were the two draws against Burnley and Crystal Palace.
However, adding context will help. In total, the East Midlands outfit created a total of 7.95 in xG and conceded 10.75 in xGA. A deficit of 2.8.
It is not entirely fair to say we have not been clinical: the primary issue has not been finishing chances but creating them. These numbers are not relegation form, but they are thoroughly midtable.
The defensive aspect of the game is more pertinent. Though we have failed to construct chances, a side should at least be expected to prevent goal scoring opportunities. Our woeful numbers are in no way the result of lacking individual effort: a total of 128 tackles have been put in already.
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I find it difficult to start assigning defensive blame when looking through the lens of stats. You see, Caglar Soyuncyu has been seen as error prone and incapable yet has made 37 clearances over those games – without him we would have conceded many.
plus it would be difficult to bring in Daniel Amartey or Filip Benkovic ahead of Cags.
It is thus stylistic and systematic issues which should garner your attention.
‘RodgersBall’
4-2-3-1. Drill that into your mind. The primary formation chosen by Rodgers to go out into most matches and also our most versatile and perhaps best formation.
Yet 4-2-3-1 is flexible within matches, incessantly switching to a 4-4-2 in defence and a 3-4-3 at times of excessive possession. Flexibility should allow Leicester City to create more chances or defend better depending on the circumstances.
However, this has not worked. Finding out why is not difficult, the reason for our failure has been personnel. That is, the right personnel in form and available to make this formation work as intended.
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There is an age-old debate about progression and possession, which do your care about more and how you achieve it within a football match. For Rodgers this season, possession and progression retention has been the imperative.
We aim to keep the ball and keep it high, but also are prepared to pass all the way back to the ‘keeper to restart the build-up.
There are four names usually absent from the personnel which would help the Foxes progress, possess, but also more clinically create: James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Wesley Fofana.
One of those is injured so it is not their own fault or Rodgers’ fault. However, Barnes and Madders are both regular players and have not been at the races. They have been poor or absent within matches.
These are pivotal players. When on form, Maddison is a creative dynamo in midfield and is capable of taking the progression from Youri Tielemans and finding that final pass into a dangerous position, finding Jamie Vardy or someone else.
Barnes is so important. His pace and explosiveness mixed with a strength and allurement of defenders allows him to draw in defenders and then beat them in a foot race.
FoL’s exhaustive look at the season’s beginning continues on the upcoming page.
This is a penetrative tendency critical to how we have progressed in the past. We have passed the ball to Barnes and he has run it forward. This is no longer happening as the player becomes most absent within matches.
In the meantime, ‘Nacho has been impactful whenever on the pitch, leaving supporters rageful as to why the gaffer has failed to include him as a main man alongside Vardy.
So, we know that the system is not necessarily the issue and that it is the selection of personnel which is the issue, but we must look at what players have contributed in which ways. To that let us do an honours list.
Leicester’s honours list
In this section, I will detail the statistical absolute bests for the Foxes, from defensive contributions to attacking intent. I should note this is about the total accumulated contribution and not relative to playtime.
Vardy is of course our top goalscorer, playing every match and scoring six while also assisting once. No other player has more than one PL goal to their name.
Continue the article by accessing the next page of early campaign analysis.
The title for most successful dribbles (when a player pushes passed defenders) is held by Ademola Lookman. He has accumulated 10 in the short time he has been played.
Starman Tielemans and Ricardo Periera hold joint first in the number of assists they have accumulated: two each. It turns out Ricky P and Tielemans are creative threats who should be playing every match.
Wilfred Ndidi has put in the most tackles. 18 out of a total of 128. Second place is jointly held by Timothy Castagne and Tielemans with 15 tackles each. Imagine taking these three out of the equation.
The most clearances is held by Soyuncu with 37, not so closely followed by Jannik Vestergaard with 25. Some supporters have been calling for these players to be withdrawn from the side: I would recommend not removing that many defensive contributions from the team.
Cags also holds the title of most involved. If you add every single form of defensive and attacking contribution together, his involvement across the seven matches is once more miles ahead of the nearest competition.
Clearly our defenders have been putting in a shift, yet have been unable to contain the opposition or create too much.
How Rodgers can get us firing
There are two options: the gaffer can either return to the best possible XI in his preferred formation, or make a systematic change in a bid to improve defensive solidity.
Based on the stats, Seniorman Kels, Lookman, Vardy, Tielemans, Pereira, Cags, Vestergaard, and – were he not injured – Ndidi must be involved. If they cannot be involved, then a suitable replacement (Hamza Choudhury for Ndidi) must be selected.
I would stick with 4-2-3-1. Bring in Luke Thomas, Cags, Vest, and Ricky P at the back, with Choudhury, Tielemans, and Maddison in midfield. Up front, stick with Barnes, Vardy, and Lookman.
If we switch though, a 3-4-1-2 could be used. Imagine Cags, Vest, and Castagne, with Thomas and Pereira as wing-backs. A midfield of Tielemans, Maddison, and Lookman. With a front two of Nacho and Vardy.
Either a systematic or personnel change is required. Which do you think is needed? Please tell us on one of our social media channels, including our verified account on Twitter.