Leicester V Rennes: Predicted Foxes line-up for UECL Round of 16
By Alice Wright
Leicester City host Rennes at the King Power Stadium for the first leg in the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League. Here is our predicted starting XI and score prediction.
The Foxes are currently sat 12th in the Premier League on 33 points, after two wins on the bounce against Burnley and Leeds United, City will be up for the tough game after much-needed consecutive clean sheets.
The visitors sit 4th in Ligue 1 on 46 points and only PSG have scored more goals than them in the league. Les Rouge et Noirs also won their last two fixtures against Angers and Montpellier.
Leicester City injuries
More injuries to add to the ever-growing list now, as Jamie Vardy is out again with a knee issue, which he picked up in the game against Leeds, with Brendan Rodgers saying he will be out for 3-4 weeks. Ricardo Pereira is still out with an injury and is “not quite ready” to return.
Wesley Fofana was due to be involved in today’s matchday squad after coming back from a broken leg and ankle ligament damage but has tested positive for Covid. Unfortunately he won’t be involved in today’s squad but Rodgers hopes he will be available for the Arsenal game at the weekend.
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Predicted XI
In better news James Maddison and James Justin are both available for today’s game after the pair came back from injury. Due to this I don’t think Maddison will start and instead be featured on the bench.
It will be a tough game against the 4th placed French side, who have been compared to a playing-style similar of Liverpool’s, and I think we will put a very strong team out against a strong Rennes side. My predicted team would be:
Kasper Schmeichal (GK), Luke Thomas (LB), Caglar Soyunchu (CB), Daniel Amartey (CB), James Justin (RB), Wilfred Ndidi (DM), Youri Tielemans (CM), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (CM), Ademola Lookman (LW), Marc Albrighton (RW), Patson Daka (ST).
On the bench, Maddison is likely be brought on towards the 60-minute mark; Justin may not last as he’s coming back from a problem. It’s also likely that Barnes could come on to replace Lookman although I would like to see the Nigerian play a full 90.
I request that Rodgers uses Lookman instead of Barnes mostly to give him a bit of game time and to give the England international a rest. Additionally, it would be great just to see Lookman feature more because he’s a brilliant player and can be key in goal scoring opportunities.
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Score Prediction
A home win will be vital for the Foxes to progress to the quarter-finals as with the 2nd leg being away. Yet it will be a really tough game for Leicester. I think the final score will be 3-2 to Leicester as I can’t see us coming away from the fixture without conceding and because Paris Saint-Germain are the only team in Ligue 1 to have scored more goals than Rennes. However, I do think we can win the 1st leg after winning successive games in a row. In addition to not conceding which will instil a lot of confidence within the team.