Leicester City will host Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Europa League on 4th November, following a tough tie. Here is what to expect from another big match.
Brendan Rodgers will hope for better defending and more of the same attacking intent which saw the Foxes narrowly triumph over Russian side Spartak Moscow in their previous UEL fixture. The away side won 3-4 thanks to a late flurry of goals from Patson Daka.
The home tie shall be no different in many ways. Leicester will still utilise Daka and the Moscow-based side will still offer a physically tough counter-attacking style. This will be a test of whether the gaffer has learnt anything from the defeat to Arsenal.
Patson Daka’s Leicester City tour
Out on European tour, the Zambian international goal-machine and fan favourite will once more be the focal point of a progressive and possessively dominant King Power team. Rodgers will of course opt to keep Jamie Vardy fresh for the league and use Daka to progress in competitions.
Here are a couple of stats to underline just how critical the young forward will be if the Blue and Whites are to be victorious. Please click the below link to go to the next page.
Using FBRef, we can see that over the course of the last year, the 23-year-old has attained a non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists of 1.26: in the 99th percentile of forwards. That is a sensational stat.
For a forward, his assist statistics are also simply amazing; though his pass completion percentage is well off the mark. With 0.29 assists per 90 from only 13.19 completed passes per 90, Daka shows himself to be an extraordinary talent.
The Zambian also perfectly fits the Rodgers style of high pressing football. With ‘pressures’ per 90 within the final third in the 91st percentile and tackles per 90 in the 89th percentile.
Spartak Moscow is right to be worried about a confident, in-form, and selfless Patson Daka. He will be the star of the show once again. The question is not over whether to start him, it is who you partner with the Zambian.
On the other side of the story, the Russians remain a physically tough side with plenty of European experience. From Victor Moses to Roman Zobnin, they have a sprinkle of great talent and experienced talent. I expect another compact low block with long direct balls over our midfield in an attempt to create chances.
Expected XI
There are two possibilities: Rodgers will either use this as an opportunity to reintegrate Wilfred Ndidi into the squad – changing the formation to a 4-2-3-1 again – or retain a back three and not use the Nigerian international in this side.
My expectation is for the defensive beast to be on the bench for this match. In that scenario, a 3-4-3 will be preferred by the gaffer, and therefore the side almost picks itself; the team will also take into account a tough league fixture coming up.
XI: Kasper Schmeichel, Jannik Vestergaard, Jonny Evans, Daniel Amartey, Luke Thomas, Timothy Castagne, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Hamza Choudhury, Ademola Lookman, Harvey Barnes, and Patson Daka.
Ryan Bertrand may be shifted into a left-sided centre-back role to give either Amartey or Evans a rest, though I do expect a strong starting XI. After a strong performance against Brighton & Hove Albion, I expect Choudhury to be given a run out to rest Tielemans a little.
The front three is almost a guarantee I could bet on. After great individual performances in previous matches, Lookman and Barnes should be used to inflict pace and our game onto the match.
Do you think Rodgers will bring in Ndidi for this fixture, and will he bring a strong XI or a heavily rotated side to keep a league team ready for the Leeds United match? Let Foxes of Leicester know on our social media channels.