For Leicester City, weeks don’t come much bigger than this, with three winnable games in the space of nine days providing them with the opportunity to haul themselves away from the relegation zone. They’ve gathered points so far with Everton coming up, and while they’d rather have beaten Leeds and drawn with Wolves, it’s a record that many City fans would’ve snapped your hands off for prior to this set of fixtures.
For much of the Foxes faithful, there’s long been a feeling that their luck is out, and that combined with poor performances is often the tonic for relegation. However, with Wout Faes getting away with what looked like a handball against Wolves, relegation rivals being denied a goal on Thursday with a tight offside and Nottingham Forest conceding to lose late on yesterday, perhaps City’s fortunes are changing.
A win against Everton on Monday would see the East Midlanders climb four clear of their opponents with just four rounds of fixtures remaining. Here at Foxes of Leicester, we’re outlining three players who must start in this crucial bank holiday bout. Please click below to continue the current article and travelling to the subsequent page.
Caglar Soyuncu of Leicester City
This week, the news many had expected finally emerged, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Caglar Soyuncu will join Atletico Madrid on a free transfer this summer. This comes just as the Turkish international re-entered the Foxes fray following the departure of former boss Brendan Rodgers.
Not only has Soyuncu merely come back into the side, but he’s also excelled, putting in a stellar, man of the match performance in the victory at home to Wolves. Many will argue that with his future secured, there’s little incentive for the defender to give his all for the Foxes as they bid to fight the drop.
This is a very narrow-minded view, as there are plenty of reasons for Soyuncu to put in maximum effort for the season’s final five fixtures. Nobody wants a relegation on their CV, not least somebody with the aggression the defender plays with, and after the treatment he received from his previous boss, there’s a massive point to be proven.
Harvey Barnes
During the recent home game with Bournemouth, with City 1-0 down and putting in a stinker of a performance, the sight of Harvey Barnes limping around the pitch’s perimeter led to a sinking feeling inside many concerned onlookers. At that point, unaware of the severity of the injury, even the most ardent Foxes fan would have found optimism a difficult task.
Now, City have their top scorer back, and with the prospect of facing Ben Godfrey, pending Seamus Coleman’s fitness, Barnes will surely be licking his lips. He’ll have seen the way Alexander Isak jinked in an out of three Toffees defenders on that left-hand side on Thursday and thinking of all the opportunities for him to exploit.
James Maddison
When Dean Smith was managing Aston Villa to an unlikely survival, he had one player who he orientated everything around in fan-favourite Jack Grealish, and there’s already the impression that a similar theme might emerge with James Maddison. The midfielder starred against Leeds on Tuesday, and similarly to Grealish, thrived in an environment where he was portrayed as the pantomime villain.
After announcing this week that he and his partner are expecting twins, City fans can expect a topical celebration from the Foxes if Maddison was to bag an important goal. This could be expected with his prowess from range, with Monday’s opponents allowing Callum Wilson and Fabian Schar (the latter albeit disallowed) to score from outside the penalty area in their midweek defeat.
With nine league goals and seven assists this term, City’s MVP could be crucial in their survival efforts. Maximum focus is required for Maddison, however, any lapse in concentration akin to his inadvertent opponent assist against Bournemouth could be calamitous.