Why Steve Cooper should move James Justin and start Ricardo Pereira

Six years of Ricardo Pereira. The Portuguese right-back has arguably been the best fullback the club has ever had: with two seasons disrupted by injuries, and others where he showed his mentality, quality, and excellence. As our main right-back during the EFL Championship winning campaign as well, the question emerges: why is he not playing?

The King Power side under Steve Cooper has opted for a combination of Victor Kristiansen and James Justin as our primary fullback partnership. The Welshman has opted for this as the Danish left-back performs well as a marauding wing-back whereas the Englishman excels as a more traditional defender that can come forward to knock a cross in.

The pair fit the system preferred by the head coach. However, as we have seen the Foxes have been shaky at the back, lacking in creativity upfront, and lacked the necessary mentality to perform consistently throughout matches. One part of this should be obvious.

Why Steve Cooper ought to start Ricky P

The Portuguese beast is a captain-contending leader, has a monstrous winning mentality, and can put in last ditch defensive actions or offers one of the best attacking options of any fullback - better than Kristiansen for sure. Of course, all of this is merely hearsay, let’s back this up.

Pereira is in the 93rd percentile for fullbacks in non-penalty expected goals, 94th for tackles, 90th for interceptions, 86th for progressive passes, 99th for completed passes… I do not need to go on. ‘Ricky P’ is clearly our best fullback. He offers so much more than either Justin or Kristiansen can. More impassioned defensively, more aggressive progressively, and more creative on the attack: Ricardo Pereria has got to start.

To do this, all Cooper’s Leicester City have to do is return to the set-up Enzo Maresca had deployed for the Foxes: Justin on the left, Pereira on the right. Both can sit back, both can maraud forward, both can score goals. Having both on the pitch at the same time makes the King Power side play better, defend better, and create more chances. That is undeniable when looking at last season versus this one thus far.