Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side is in desperate need of some results as the Foxes slip further and further away from the survival spots, and closer into the relegation abyss. Leicester City are five points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th, and 13 points behind our next challengers in 16th. Points are necessary, and with a tough run of games, this might be our best chance to at least get a bit closer.
With all the importance around the fixture, Nistelrooy will be pressured into making changes, the defenders will need to work doubly hard to protect our goal, and some players may feel the need to be a little heroic.
Leicester City pressured changes
In the aftermath of the utterly pathetic Brentford outing, the sacking of two of Steve Cooper’s coaches, and the uproar in the fanbase, Ruud van Nistelrooy will feel immense pressure to make tangible changes to the starting line-up. The Dutchman will have to decide whether to cave or stand his ground with the system and players that are not working.
For me, the main thing to look out for will be which players come in and which remain in the side. Facundo Buonanotte has been the feature of much support from the Leicester faithful, seeing him as exciting if sometimes wasteful. The Argentinian has barely featured under Nistelrooy, and West Ham could see the young attacker brought into the starting side for the first time in a while.
The centurion front three used in the past few matches is barely a threat on goal, has failed us constantly, and the argument for keeping them has been shown a farce. The Foxes’ head coach has claimed he wanted Jordan Ayew and Bobby Decordova-Reid for their defensive contribution: we have one of the worst defensive records and almost no threat on goal. Nistelrooy has to drop the pair.
Although the system clearly needs changes, the King Power Club are unlikely to make any alterations with the boss feeling his possession-based system which relies on slow progression up the pitch and moments of quality to create chances is the right fit. This has been failing Leicester City with no ability to break through defensive lines being offered. Look out for minor changes with players in different positions to help improve this (Buonanotte the key change up front).
Defenders must work extra hard
Upfront, the Hammers have a powerful potential to trash the Foxes defence. Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, James Justin, and even Victor Kristiansen at times step up beyond our own defensive line to press an attacker. This will simply not work against Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paquetá.
That collection are highly technical and agile, able to round defenders and have enough pace to break past them. As such, we will look out for those players who major our backline working extremely hard and hopefully not stepping up as much as usual. However, if they continue to step up during the tie, look out for how many goals Leicester City let in.
Heroism
One of the major criticisms of some of our players is wastefulness. Think of Buonanotte and Bilal el Khannouss sometimes shooting from obscene positions simply because they do not have a forward pass on. They concede possession, do not score, and destroy any chance the team have in creating a possibly better opportunity.
With all the criticisms and the critical importance of this fixture, Leicester players may try to go ‘lone wolf’ in taking on opponents, progressing the ball, and in taking shots. There is less trust of one another, more arguments, and more individual heroism.
Imagine Wilfred Ndidi ignoring his defenders and trying to intercept and tackle every attacker himself, Boubakary Soumare trying to push through midfield without the support of other talents, and Jamie Vardy or Buonanotte trying to take all the shots themselves. This is what I am expecting to see in the West Ham game.