Leicester’s form turnaround ironically coincides with veteran’s absence

The elephant in the room is the Northern Irish defender. No one would claim Amartey is better, but we would say Faes has been a revolution, and the Ghanaian defender has offered a passionate and improved image from some of his former missteps. To be honest, Amartey offers a different style of play, which has benefitted in recent matches.

I used to call Jonny Evans the stalwart. Composed, strong, and an expert in timing, his defensive actions or inactions were almost immaculate. However, in this composure, we would see a lack of rushing to disrupt, with a priority to block a chance.

Without a proper midfield shield, an over-aggressive defender would leave too much space, and Evans would not track into that space, seeking rather to track a run or stay in front of his opponent. This consistently created chances for the opposition. Whether this is more the result of the midfield change or the backline change is debatable.

In defence of Jonny Evans

Personally, I feel putting Evans back in alongside Faes with this newly strong midfield will bring better defending and an overall reduced number of chances for the opposition. Additionally, it should help to maintain possession, as the Northern Irish defender does like to recycle the ball or look for the pass rather than constantly knocking it long hopefully.

At the moment, low possession and reckless/hopeless long balls do slow us down and break up momentum. Once Leicester can reintegrate the veteran and not lose what they have gained, then a more balanced team should have the opportunity to push on and gain more points.