Foxes of Leicester
Fansided

Maresca’s Leicester formation and tactics explained with 2023/24 coming

By Nathan Wong

Enzo Maresca, the Leicester City manager, looks on during the pre season friendly match between Northampton Town and Leicester City at Sixfields on July 15, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca, the Leicester City manager, looks on during the pre season friendly match between Northampton Town and Leicester City at Sixfields on July 15, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) /
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In possession 

Leicester City
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 15: A general view of the outside of The King Power Stadium ahead of the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool FC at The King Power Stadium on May 15, 2023 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images) /

Enzo Maresca usually sets up in a 4-3-3 formation, with a singular holding. Nevertheless, within a game, the setup is entirely different. In possession LCFC set up in a 3-2-5/3-2-4-1 formation, very akin to the way Manchester City set up. In this system, the central centre-back (LCB in a 4-3-3) becomes a ball-playing sweeper whilst the ‘left-back’ inverts into a third centre-back, effectively forming a back three in possession. Usually, this has been Callum Doyle who has the athleticism to defend out wide despite some technical limitations.

On the right, Ricardo is the perfect player to invert into a double-pivot along with Winks. Despite the physical limitations of both players, they are both extremely technical and as evidenced in pre-season, work well together to retain possession and move the ball through the lines through the creation of overloads.

A key component of the midfield is the staggered structure, which resembles the way that Roberto De Zerbi likes to build up. Interestingly, Maresca is also a good friend with his fellow countryman which can only be a good thing. This staggered structure in the midfield allows for the creation of an ‘in-to-out structure’, passing into the midfield before passing backwards out wide.

Effectively, this encourages the opposition to press by dangling the bait of an advantageous transition. Nevertheless, when executed right, this build-up allows the advanced midfielders to exploit space in-behind the opposition press. Thus, the attacking side ends up in a ‘transition’ despite maintaining possession the whole time. Key to this is ensuring that the players receive the ball at the right angles, to ensure optimum reception and options for offloading. This would go a long way to making Leicester City a lot less predictable and easy to defend against.

Out wide, the wingers hold width and are instructed to isolate their opposition full-back. This has not been as visible in pre-season due to the lack of winger profiles at the club. Hopefully, Stephy Mavididi and a new right-winger will showcase how Maresca desires to isolate the wingers against a weaker full-back.