Leicester vs Roma: injury news and predicted XI
Leicester City take on Roma in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final today at the King Power Stadium.
The East Midlands side enter the game having drawn their last two Premier League games and will be looking to turn their fortunes around as they take on Jose Mourinho’s side.
Leicester City injury news
The Blue Army will be relieved to know that Leicester’s injuries are slowly easing with just the three players unavailable for tonight’s fixture, as Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Boubakary Soumare would be making his return from injury. Of those three players unavailable, only two are outfield with Eldin Jakupovic out, a stark contrast to the scenes at Filbert Way earlier in the campaign where injuries ravaged the King Power side.
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The two outfield players that the Foxes will be without are Ryan Bertrand and Wilfred Ndidi. While Ndidi will definitely be missed by Foxes faithful, Leicester will enter the game with their strongest side this campaign.
Predicted Starting XI
As Leicester prepare for their first-ever European semi-final, Rodgers is almost certain to play his strongest 11 players for this crucial tie. I expect the Northern Irishman to play a 4-3-3 formation similar to what he has played in recent fixtures.
Leicester City’s captain, Kasper Schmeichel will start in goal, Timothy Castagne will start in defence alongside, Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana and Ricardo Pereira. The midfield three will have Nampalys Mendy playing the defensive-midfield role, while Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall roam in the middle of the park.
Thursday’s game will see Jamie Vardy make his long-awaited return to the starting 11 while Ademola Lookman will start on the left with James Maddison starts on the right. While I certainly believe that Maddison is a far greater threat playing in the centre of the midfield rather than out wide, Rodgers has recently played Madders in that position.
I believe Lookman will get the starting left wing position over Harvey Barnes as the academy graduate has been inconsistent in recent fixtures. The only changes I would make to this side would be to bring in Barnes for Mendy.
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This would shift Lookman to right wing and allow Maddison to thrive in the midfield, while Dewsbury-Hall would drop slightly deeper to protect the defensive line.