3 Ways Leicester can cope without Wilfred Ndidi

Performing defensively without Wilfred Ndidi will be a challenging task for Leicester City in the coming weeks, but it is certainly not impossible. The Nigerian is the heart of the Foxes’ central defensive midfield. To put it quite simply – he is just irreplaceable.

Ndidi remained out of the Crystal Palace game due to a hamstring issue. It was later clarified to be a critical one. The central defensive midfielder is going to be out for nearly five weeks before making a comeback. However, this is not the ideal time to panic.

The defense is remaining in a state of absolute shamble since the start of the season. Leicester City is dealing over 16 shots per ninety minutes in every game. A side is bound to concede if such is the case. Moreover, it is not working in favor of the East Midlanders that they have possibly the worst luck when it comes to having defenders with leadership quality fit.

Within the fit central defenders, the comedy of errors is visibly painful to witness. Neither Çağlar Söyüncü nor Jannik Vestergaard has provided anything subsequent with their performances to cheer up the demotivated Blue Army. Please click below to transfer to the next page of analysis.

Three ways Leicester City can still cope without linchpin

Brendan Rodgers will be pondering over all his available combinations to find a makeshift solution for the next two months to deal with the strong odds lined against his side. The first way to deal with the crisis at hand is to utilize backup central defensive midfielders. It is to have a bit diminished yet effective control over the middle of the pitch. The options available to the manager are in-between Boubakary Soumaré and Hamza Choudhury.

Choudhury has played against Palace in a 4-4-2 formation implemented by Rodgers to include Kelechi Iheanacho alongside Jamie Vardy up front. Hamza looked rusted initially but statistically was the best overall player on the pitch when the match concluded. With more chances, he could become the perfect man for covering up the crisis.

Soumaré is another brilliant option that Rodgers will have to use. Alternating between Choudhury and Soumaré looks like the “clever” option in hand as the 4-4-2 demands a perfect combination of defensive, holding, and attacking players.

Nampalys Mendy could’ve been another reliable option. He is currently unfit, but City has also not registered him in their official squad list in the competitions, making him unavailable to use. The final page is accessible by clicking below this sentence.

Leicester City has been under scrutiny for its hollow defense, but on the other hand, praised for its lighting counter-attacking offensive creativity. That’s the reason why Rodgers can implement another dimension of possession-based creative football that aids in a counter-attack.
To do that, he would require a combination of the four of his best central and attacking midfielders.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Youri Tielemans, Marc Albrighton, and Ademola Lookman are perfect for that creative yet attacking approach. Excluding any CDMs with players like Harvey Barnes and James Maddison due to their poor form would be a good decision for a few weeks until they show development and consistency.

The last option is approaching the game more securely. Yes, you guessed it right, incorporating a part of parking the bus would help Leicester cover up their defensive flaws several-fold. Having five at the back is an approach that could help the King Power Club sit back after scoring one.

Mostly in recent matches, the east Midlands team securing a lead concedes too quickly. The approach remains the same before and after scoring or conceding. That needs to change as after getting ahead, the formation should culminate to form a defensive stronghold with some attackers making their way for extra defenders to come on.