After back-to-back defeats, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s job as Leicester City manager seems to be getting harder after every game. Here is the Leicester City predicted lineup as the Foxes take on league leaders Liverpool at Anfield, in what looks to be their toughest test so far.
Leicester City Predicted Lineup for Premier League Clash vs Liverpool
How Leicester City Have Lined-up Recently
Last time out, it was more poor mistakes and performances which saw Leicester easily defeated by an out-of-form Wolves side. The game ended 3-0 to the visitors and was summed up by the former PSV coach saying “We have to stop the individual mistakes.”
With Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk being sidelined it was once again Danny Ward who stepped in for the injured shot-stoppers. The centre-back partnership of Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady kept their places but the Dane was replaced after just 45 minutes last time out. James Justin and Victor Kristiansen provided the width in defence as the duo have started every game under their new manager.
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The double pivot of Oliver Skipp and Boubakary Soumaré was preferred against Wolves but Harry Winks did also return to action in the second half. On the wings, Jordan Ayew and Stephy Mavididi started last time out but Kasey McAteer and Bobby Decordova-Reid could also be in consideration, depending on injuries and preferences. Meanwhile, in the centre, Bilal El Khannouss has been the first choice as Facundo Buonanotte has been benched in back-to-back fixtures.
Jamie Vardy will be a huge miss for the Boxing Day fixture as Patson Daka will likely make a return to the starting eleven.
Leicester City’s Recent Form and Tactics
With questions over the quality of the Leicester players arising, this trip up North serves as an opportunity to forget about the recent woes against Newcastle and Wolves. Despite this, in the table, they do still sit above the relegation zone in 17th, which is two points more than the Wolves side that they were dismantled by.
The weekend’s loss saw the 4-2-3-1 formation ever-present but with limited success in any phase of the pitch. This led to the Dutchman reverting to the system familiar with his players from their time under Enzo Maresca. The past weekend’s game was tough for Leicester as they lacked creativity going forward, whilst the individual mistakes that have been costly this season were also present once again.
In the four games overseen by Van Nistelrooy, Leicester have conceded 82 shots, with an Expected Goal tally of 9.4 for the opposition. The defence was once again the clear issue with a lack of organization and regular errors that consistently left their side weakened against clinical opposition. The attacking options were also an issue as Brighton’s loanee Facundo Buonanotte was benched once again.
However, there were also signs of improvement. If not for individual errors then the stats show that it wasn’t all bad and this is supported by Van Nistelrooy as he recently said: “The back-line had one of their best games, in terms of the number of chances they had and the number of box entries, they were season bests**.”** This is a fair assessment given the changes in the second half as Hamza Choudhury looked back to his best in the inverted role, whilst was also a revelation in the middle of the park.
Leicester City Injuries to Consider
A goalkeeping crisis has recently emerged as Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk have both been sidelined, but they could be ready for Thursday night’s action as their manager explained: “We’re assessing every day with Mads. Jakub is back and is fit and is available**.”** Wilfred Ndidi has been out since the 2-2 draw against Brighton, whilst Jamie Vardy could also miss out due to some knocks that are said to be short-term.
Leicester City Predicted Lineup
GK: Jakub Stolarczyk
RB: Hamza Choudhury
RCB: Wout Faes
LCB: Jannik Vestergaard
LB: Victor Kristiansen
DM: Boubakary Soumaré
DM: Harry Winks
AM: Bilal El Khannouss
RW: Facundo Buonanotte
LW: Stephy Mavididi
ST: Patson Daka