Ruud van Nistelrooy will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat when Leicester City take on the struggling Wolves.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has had a modest start to life from a neutral perspective, but from a Leicester City point of view, four points from two home games is a good return ahead of the visit of the hapless Wolves.
A dramatic late fightback against Brighton & Hove Albion followed a convincing win over West Ham United. However, in the most recent game, Newcastle United gave the Dutchman had a stark reality check.
Leicester City have conceded 73 shots on goal in the three games that van Nistelrooy has been in charge, indicating a rather unsustainable system. Even if the Foxes are attacking with newfound vigour, the Dutchman must address the defensive issues that threaten to derail their season as it progresses.
The loss to Newcastle United was a disappointing outcome, but the bitter blow came in the way of teams around them taking points last weekend. Leicester City are currently 17th with 14 points on board, and van Nistelrooy will be thinking of taking advantage of their visitors’ plight ahead of a relegation doubleheader at the King Power Stadium.
Ugly scenes at the end of Wolves’ disappointing late defeat against the newly promoted Ipswich Town were simply the tensions brewing in the background boiling over. Things have not looked good for the Black Country outfit, as ex-manager Gary O’Neil also stripped Mario Lemina of the captaincy.
A run of four straight defeats led to O’Neil getting sacked by the Wolves board, whose decision would have been made easy after losing to Ipswich Town last weekend. The away side have since moved swiftly in the market to appoint Vitor Pereira, with the experienced tactician now set to lock horns a somewhat inexperienced van Nistelrooy for his first game in charge.
Unlike Southampton, Wolves are not down and out completely despite their recent capitulation, as their current standing in second to bottom could still provide some hope for the future. All it will take is a win, as Wolves fans and players will be hoping for a new manager bounce when they visit Leicester City, although they have not won during their last six visits to the King Power.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
The Foxes have a few ins and outs heading into this weekend’s fixture, with key midfielder Wilfred Ndidi still short of fitness to start this clash. There are concerns regarding Mads Hermansen, who went off against Newcastle United, meaning Danny Ward could come in to deputise. However, Leicester fans will remember him as the keeper when they got relegated last time.
Boubakary Soumare will be available after his suspension, meaning in Ndidi’s absence, he will be in line to take on a midfield role alongside Harry Winks, who made his return last weekend. Facundo Bounanotte also made it to the bench against Newcastle United, and Ruud van Nistelrooy could consider him for a starting berth on Sunday.
Jamie Vardy remains the trusted source to score goals, although van Nistelrooy will have to find a different solution to get the final third clicking sooner rather than later. Kasey McAteer and Bilal El Khannouss are the other members expected to take their roles in the attacking setup.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ward; Justin, Okoli, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Soumare, Winks; McAteer, Bounanotte, El Khannouss; Vardy
Wolves
The fallout from the defeat to Ipswich Town will have repercussions for the new incoming manager to contend with. Rayan Ait-Nouri’s late dismissal will certainly see him miss the trip to Leicester, while there are still some doubts about Matheus Cunha’s participation following an FA charge.
The latter is still likely to play in this clash at the King Power, as any ban will depend on further investigation by the FA. On the positive side of things, Joao Gomes is back from a suspension, while Boubacar Traore and Pablo Sarabia are also likely to be involved, probably as part of the matchday squad.
Jose Sa is also close to making a comeback, but this game might come too soon for the Portuguese, meaning Sam Johnstone will continue between the sticks for Wolves. Jorgen Strand Larsen will continue to lead the line for Wolves against Leicester City, with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Cunha forming the attacking setup behind the Norwegian.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Johnstone; Semedo, Bueno, T.Gomes; Lima, J.Gomes, Lemina, Doherty; Cunha, Bellegarde; Strand Larsen
Key Stats
Leicester City have conceded 73 shots in the last three Premier League games.
Leicester City have won their last six home games against Wolves in the Premier League.
Wolves have lost their last four Premier League games.
Only Barnsley and Sheffield United have conceded more than Wolves’ 40 goals at this stage of the season.
Wolves have conceded at least two goals in 11 of their last 13 matches in the Premier League.
Player to Watch
Mario Lemina
Embed from Getty Images
The former Wolves skipper was stripped of the armband in what seemed like Gary O’Neil’s last significant action before his sacking. Lemina will probably get the nod to wear the skipper’s armband under new manager Vitor Pereira, but before that, he must lead this team out of their current rut.
Lemina is one of the most experienced players in this, Wolves said, and he will be looked up to by many of his colleagues in these difficult times. A solid performance oozing leadership is what Pereira will want from the Gabonese, as the experienced midfielder will be key to any chance his team would have to get out of the King Power Stadium with something.
Prediction
Leicester City 2-2 Wolves
The idea here is to see which team is on a better run of form and then make a comparison-based prediction, although both are in a different kind of problem. For Wolves, the pressure will be on the new manager to showcase he cannot afford to see this team lose back-to-back games to fellow relegation strugglers, and hence, the approach would be not to lose this clash.
Leicester City are on a better run of form under Ruud van Nistelrooy, but they are defensively vulnerable, which would allow the Wolves a lot of joy at the back. Overall, there is no easy way to predict a winner in this clash, as this game has all the hallmarks of an entertaining draw.