So far this season, Leicester City’s biggest issue has been their defending. It has been woeful at best, and comically bad at the worst. Right now, this is Leicester’s Achilles’ heel.
The attacking play of the squad has, overall, been impressive. Vardy has been on fire and is currently joint-top scorer in the Premier League with six goals in seven games. Lookman and Barnes have contributed, as has the ever-imperious Youri Tielemans. The real attacking potential of Leicester was personified with the gorgeous – and quite frankly underrated – team goal that served as a mere consolation during the 2:1 loss to Brighton in September.
Last season, the Foxes’ biggest issue was their defending at set-pieces. This season, that problem has mutated and affected the very concept of defending. The source of this issue? The back line.
Caglar Soyuncu, Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand just haven’t been doing it for Leicester, and excuses can only redeem them to a certain extent. But right now, fans are tired of seeing the same mistakes week-in, week-out.
Something needs to change in that back-line over the international break to help improve that back-line, but what? Here I’ll be taking a look at three different changes can be implemented over the next few games, and what it could mean for Leicester City.
1: A change of formations
This is perhaps the most obvious fix, but that’s exactly why it needs looking at. So far this season, Leicester have opted for a back four and have played a variation of the 4-2-3-1. This formation keeps the balance of the Ndidi-Tielemans partnership and allows the wingers to push up. It is the formation we expect most for Leicester.
Right now though, something within that is not clicking. In total this season, City have played eleven games – seven in the Premier League – and have conceded fifteen goals. Currently, as per data on TransferMarkt, Leicester only have four clean sheets in all competitions. In all but two of those games, Leicester started with a back four. In the other two, a back three was used.
LCFC’s two uses of starting with a back three came in their 2:0 win at Millwall, and the 1:0 loss to Legia Warsaw. It’s not a perfect success rate. But it is something.
In a back four, Leicester have conceded fourteen goals in nine games, in a back three Leicester have conceded just the once. Of course though, stats don’t tell the full story here. In reality, Leicester should have been punished more in their visit to the Polish capital.
A change in system often does wonders for a team’s style of play and confidence. In the last few seasons, it hasn’t been rare for Leicester to opt for a back three. But that was when Leicester had the ability to start both Evans and Fofana in the centre, this season that isn’t the case.
Why a back three though? The simple answer is that it offers more cover and support to the struggling defence. Just having another body in front of your goal can be a huge plus, and we’ve seen that a back-three doesn’t limit your attacking options whatsoever. With the way that both Castagne and Ricardo play, a back three may actually suit them more – Castagne especially as he played this role throughout his time at Atalanta.
The question is who the third defender will be. Big Daniel Amartey is the immediate candidate, though we have seen Castagne slot into a back three before. If Ndidi wasn’t injured, then he would be another choice.
Possibly the biggest issue with a back three though, aside from it not being the formation that Rodgers tactically prefers overall, is that it puts a further strain upon a position that Leicester are already struggling with. Filip Benkovic fills up a number on the bench – more on him later – but Leicester are really stretched right now.
Changing the formation is an immediate change that we could see come the tie against Manchester United, but anything that takes a bit off responsibility and pressure off of both Soyuncu and Vestergaard is only a good thing.
2: Injury returns
This isn’t as much of a change to the starting squad, as it is to the whole squad, but it is one we must be patient for. The loss of Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana and James Justin has been monumental.
Personally, I have felt that Evans has been Leicester’s best pure defender ever since he joined the club over three years ago. His leadership is irreplaceable. Especially over lockdown, you could hear Evans commanding the back line and coaching them as they went on. It Evans isn’t at least a defensive coach in the future, then it is football’s loss.
Evans is an example on the pitch and has been through it all. It is not only his words that motivate, but his actions as well. He shows the importance of never giving up when defending your goal. The best Leicester City example I can think of was his miracle tackle against Crystal Palace last season, saving his side from conceding a guaranteed goal that would have sealed a win for the London side.
Evans is a defensive monster, and his return will be welcomed and makes perfect sense in terms of filling in that gap in a three-man defence. After the type of injury that Evans has been suffering with, I don’t think that playing him in a two is the best idea. It risks putting too much strain on him and further aggravating his foot issue. His return has, and will continue to be, gradual. But that is for the best.
The other returning face, and potential change, for Leicester is James Justin. Oh JJ, how we have missed you. His attacking potential, as well as defending from the left is a marvellous prospect. Looking back at his performances, JJ answers almost all the issues that Ryan Bertrand is currently causing.
JJ adds another dimension to the team, whether it be a very serious goal threat – any excuse to watch THAT goal against Stoke – or providing assists. In 31 appearances last season before his cruel ACL injury, Justin scored three and assisted two goals for the Foxes.
We will see Justin return in late October at the very earliest, however his exclusion from the Europa League squad will mean that his return will directly impact Leicester’s Premier League campaign.
I do have worries about Justin though. He has often been cited as one of Leicester’s biggest losses, but in actual fact, his return wouldn’t actually fix the crux of the defensive issues: the centre backs. I feel like too much is being put on Justin as the redeemer of his sides’ fortunes.
Patience and time will need to be afforded Justin’s way, as with Evans. But if both can find their previous form, then both will have a hugely positive impact of Leicester’s dire defence.
3: Squad depth
The issue with waiting on the return of Evans and Justin, is that Leicester cannot afford to wait. They must solve their frailties now – especially if they are to give their injured players a smoother return to the squad.
The only other immediate change Leicester can do, is to make the most of the squad depth that they already have. Now, as said, the supply isn’t vast in the centre back position, but Leicester do have options if they want personnel change.
Right now, Leicester have one option in Daniel Amartey. Many fans have wanted Amartey to have an extended run in the team as he has often been the best of the three current centre backs. Ever since his impressive comeback against Man City last season, Amartey has always offered a valid option if Rodgers wanted to use him. The issue is that he seemingly just isn’t favoured by Rodgers like Soyuncu and Vestergaard are.
Amartey also isn’t at his strongest in a back two, so it wouldn’t just be a case of swapping him in for one of the centre halves, it would be a case of changing the system for his inclusion. Does Rodgers see him as worth that? So far, it wouldn’t seem so.
The other two options in the squad are a gamble. The first, predictably, is Filip Benkovic. I think it’s now that we need to come to terms with the fact that Benkovic probably won’t make it at City. He had a torrid time at Cardiff last year and wasn’t given as many minutes as he, or the fans, would have wanted during pre-season.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that, because we haven’t seen him play for Leicester, us fans can’t see what is holding him back. All that being said, Benkovic was handed a surprise lifeline by Rodgers when he was included in both Leicester’s Premier League, and Europa League squad.
Whether he is there to simply fill the numbers, or if he seriously faces a potential appearance – I would anticipate seeing him potentially start in either game against Lokomotiv Moscow – it is now or never for Benkovic, and what better time to emulate Soyuncu and succeed in a time that Leicester need him most.
And finally, we have young Ben Nelson. The 17-year-old has seriously impressed throughout his time in the Leicester academy, and now frequently captains his side in their Premier League 2 campaign. As an under-21 player, he can be used in all competitions for Leicester, even though he hasn’t been named in their squads.
Nelson is an option, and we’ve seen the jump that Luke Thomas has made from academy to first team, but in all honesty, I don’t see Nelson as a serious option for Leicester City at the moment. He endured a mixed pre-season, ending in a fairly poor showing in the second half to Villarreal. I can see Nelson as an option for the future, but just not now.
Leicester’s defence will improve as the season goes on, and you may well see all three of these options being utilised as Rodgers seeks to turn the fortunes of his side around. All in all, this is a massive month for the side, one that will shape the rest of the season. They need to sort this defence as soon as possible. Having many of his defenders out on international duty won’t help Rodgers, but he must play with the cards he has been dealt with.