3 Things to look out for in Leicester vs Forest

If there can be such a concept as a relegation six-pointer in October, then Leicester City’s Monday night clash with Nottingham Forest is surely it. The Foxes welcome their East Midlands rivals to the King Power Stadium, sitting three points below Steve Cooper’s men on a solitary point at the Premier League’s basement.

Brendan Rodgers will be relieved that there are no fresh injury concerns on the back of the latest international break, with Wilfred Ndidi’s precautionary exit from the Nigerian squad initially a concern. The Sky Sports clash pits two clubs with diametrically opposed summer transfer policies, with the hosts welcoming only Wout Faes as an outfielder into the first team fold, while Forest opened the floodgates to over 20 new arrivals.

With both sides exceedingly leaky at the back, there are sure to be a ton of goals – and failing that a plethora of opportunities. Here at Foxes of Leicester, we compiled our list of three things to keep an eye on during the crucial encounter.

Leicester City’s shape

A hot topic during this spell with no on pitch action has been whether the manager will attempt to bolt the back door by adding a third centre-half into the first team. This might seem like the sensible option, but the severe lack of pace or acceleration exhibited by both Jonny Evans and the new arrival Faes means it could be a recipe for disaster.

Key to this could be the selection of Harvey Barnes, whose inclusion further up the pitch often dictates the personnel involved behind. If Rodgers feels this is a fixture where he might see little joy on the flanks, the No.7 could be sidelined in favour of a 3-back system with width supplied by James Justin and Timothy Castagne.

However, goals haven’t been the issue for the blue side of the Trent this year, and sacrificing one of your most effective attacking outlets when you’ve shipped more goals in your first seven top flight games as anybody since the 60s hardly seems like a productive proposition. Jamie Vardy has been at his best in recent years when he’s had creative sparks around him, and with the Foxes forward likely to regain a starting spot, leaving him isolated without Barnes and/or Maddison to provide would be unwise.

If the City legend was consigned to the bench, we could see a front two, both of whom were on the scoresheet against Brighton last month, of Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka. This would again facilitate a wing-back system with James Maddison operating in his most effective role behind a striking partnership.