Leicester v. Man Utd, Match Preview, Fans View, Who’s in, Who’s out,

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After a bit of troublesome start Manchester United have found their way back in the title race, they are also close to a final in the EFL Cup, might also go all the way in Europa League after dropping out of the Champions League.

Everything isn’t perfect at Manchester United as the squad is a bit unbalanced and they are not as consistent as they probably would like to be. But since OGS took over at Old Trafford they have not lost to Leicester City with that fantastic 5-3 win back in 2014 the last time we did see a win for Leicester City, and actually the only LCFC home win in the history of the Premier League.

OGS as Brendan Rodgers can be difficult to read as they often change systems and players, though OGS most of the time selects a back four and Brendan can juggle it all around. This makes it difficult to decide on a line-up.

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Looking at the injury situation in both camps you will find a number of players. Man Utd will be without Rojo and Jones, and McTominay is a risk, with a groin problem, but could potentially be ready tomorrow, but uncertain.

Leicester City will definetily be without Pereira and Soyuncu, and it’s also a little risk for Jamie Vardy, but he looks as he will make it, and with the latest to be said, that he will be ready.

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Referee,
Mike Dean

Best Bet,
3-1 , Leicester City

Predicted LCFC line-up,
System: 4-3-3, Schmeichel – Castagne, Justin, Evans, Fofana – Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison – Albrighton, Vardy, Barnes

Fun Fact,
Fun or not so fun, Jamie Vardy has never scored on “Boxing Day” as a Leicester City player, hopefully he will make a full change tomorrow.

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In Both Camps,
Looking at those players and also a manager you will always count Danny Drinkwater, Danny Simpson and Harry Maguire, and not to forget Jonny Evans, all of them great footballers, but still probably more known in one of the camps than the other.

Matty James, Brian Carey and Colin Gibson are other names to mention to have done a job in both clubs. Ritchie De Laet is also a player with a past at both clubs and his time at Leicester City must be said to be the most successful as he played 115 league games between 2012 to 2016. Mark Robins, Jesse Lingard and Michael Keane are others.

Frank O’Farrell has been in charge of both clubs, firstly at Leicester City getting the team to the FA Cup final, and then winning the 2nd divison in 1971. He took over Man Utd in July the same year and had a glorious start at Old Trafford, being top of the table in October 1971, but it was not to be and a difficult period started and a year later, after 18 months he was sacked after that terrible 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in December 72. He is still the only Irishman to be manager at the club, and still around and reached the grown age of 93.

Did You Know,
Manchester United are, from a statistical point of view, superior to Leicester City with 19 wins collected in previous meetings, the worst record for LCFC v. any other side in the Premier League. This season both teams have picked up 18 points away from home, the best record ,though Leicester City have played one more game away.

December 25, 2020 0

Leicester 2, Wolves 0, positives and negatives, player ratings and match report

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A number of surprises in the line-up and a few pleasing changes that made real sense. The surprise was to see Wes Morgan, the captain, dropped and also the inclusion of Papa Mendy. Great to see Marc Albrighton back in the line-up and Ricardo Pereira moved to his best position, right back. Jamie Vardy was given the chance up front. Daniel Amartey, Kelechi Iheanacho and Adrien Silva were all named on the bench.

With four changes from start it might be difficult to adapt and it was a great struggle from the start. Wolves came close hitting the bar and Ben Chilwell just a toe away from a clear goal. The visitors could have been at least 1-0 up after the first three minutes.

After this Leicester more and more came into the game and started to perform with good passing and again some entertaing stuff from James Maddison who again had a great game. The introduction of Papa Mendy was also a great success.

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Mendy, who was out loan at Nice last season, hadn’t started a game for the club since January 2017 when playing Southampton. He was in great form and really nice to see his fresh and solid passing and really giving the Leicester midfield a new dimention.

Silva had dropped to the bench and Iborra was not in the squad. Puel is a bit unpredictable and not easy to read, but this time he really got his selection 100 % correct, and was also rewarded during the first half.

A crosser from Marc Albrighton after 29 minutes was unluckily for Wolves defender Matt Doherty, headed fantastically into his own net, being pressured inside the penalty box.

Leicester kept momentum with Ndidi and Mendy dominating the midfield area, well balanced with Gray and Albrighton on both sides, and with an “in form” James Maddision just behind the front man Jamie Vardy.

Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell are both offensive full backs and made it possible for City to play with confidence and high pressure. Maddison made everything correct when he after 45 minutes scored from a great and accurate shot on the floor, well placed.

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Leicester were 2-0 up at half-time and had turned the game absolutely around after that horrible start.

2nd half was a bit of a balanced game and Leicester looked well confident until the 66th minute when Jamie Vardy was send off, given a direct red, for a move that was really not necessary at all, despite being on the ball Vardy also took Doherty with him and it looked nasty.

After this incident it was more of a game for Leicester to balance and Kasper Schmeichel together with the defenders had good controll, despite being one man less.

So to sum up the game, here are the positives and negatives, player ratings and match stats.

Positvies:
- Playing in the 4-4-1-1 formation and players looks confident
- Vardy back in the line-up and contributing
- Maddison playing well and scoring his first league goal for the club
- Winning at home, picking up three points, keeping a clean sheet
- Suprise changes worked for the better
- Mendy’s performance, where did that come from
- Pereira playing at right back, doing great
Negatives:
- Vardy getting sent off, strange behavior from an experienced player
- Two yellow cards and one red
- Bad start to the game, could have been in great trouble after a few minutes
- Unpredictable and strange things happening, but luckily it turned out well

Player Ratings: Schmeichel 7. Pereira 8, Chilwell 8, Evans 6, Maguire 7, Mendy 8, Ndidi 7, Albrighton 7, Gray 6, Maddison 8, Vardy 5, Subs: Amartey, Iheanacho, Silva

Match Stats: H/A

Possession: 40 / 60
Corners: 1 / 9
Shots on target: 2 / 4
Shots wide: 2 / 4
Fouls: 10 / 8
Offsides: 0 / 1

August 18, 2018

Leicester v. Wolves, Match Preview, Fans View, Who’s in, Who’s out,

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Nuno managed to get the season rolling with a point at home to Everton. Wolves playing 10 against 11 for most of the game. Everton defender Phil Jageilka was sent-off after a horrible tackle on Diego Jota.

Goals from Neves and Jimenez secured the draw. Richarlison scored both goals for Everton, and look out for Neves, he also had the assist on the goal of Jimenez.

Leicester made the most out of their visit to Old Trafford, but the result in the end was nothing but a “donut”, and that is seldom great, but again a lot of positives.

The introduction of James Maddison made it possible to hope for more, and the fact that Leicester had the ball more than Manchester United, makes no secret of what Claude Puel is trying to achieve with this team.

The big question is, does Leicester City have the material to play in this way and get points enough to be satisfied with the outcome.

Wolves will come to Leicester with a point in the bag from their home clash with Everton, getting back from being behind and really showing their quality.

Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire are both back in the frame for a starting position and hopefully it will be possible for Claude Puel to play his best team

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From a fans point of view, it will be massive to get a win at home and set the standard for this season, hopefully James Maddison and Jamie Vardy will put on a great show.

The partnership between the two is what we are both waiting for and to see them together would be great, so hopefully both will be starting.

Wolves is a team to respect and we all remember the last clash between the two teams, ending in a defeat in pre-season last summer at Molineux Ground.

For all former official games between the two, you will see that Leicester have 42 wins, Wolves 36 and 32 games have ended in draws.

You should also check out the latest updates on injuries and suspensions. and as you can see, Leicester will certainly be without Matty James and Nampalys Mendy, who are both injured. Shinji Okazaki and Caglar Soyuncu are both in doubt, due to fitness.

Wolves will be without Ivan Cavaleiro and Adam Traore. but will be able to field a strong team and certainly be competetive in this single Premier League Midland clash.

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Referee,
Mike Dean will be in charge at King Power, hopefully getting all decisions correct.

Best Bet,
Our bold prediction is a 2-0 win to Leicester, but not certain at all.

Predicted Leicester City line-up,
System: 4-4-1-1, Schmeichel – Pereira, Maguire, Morgan, Chilwell – Ndidi, Silva, Albrighton, Gray – Maddison – Vardy

Fun Fact,
Former manager Mark McGhee decided to leave Leicester City for Wolves, seeing them as a bigger club. Martin O’Neill came in, got City promoted, something McGhee never managed at Wolves.

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In Both Camps,
If you look at the past, a number of players have been playing for both clubs, and one to mention is goalkeeper Karl Ikeme. Ikeme who has recently retired from the game due to health reasons. We wish him all the best.

Other players we remember are of course Ade Akinbiyi, Richard Stearman, Derek Dougan and Tim Flowers. Would also like to mention the classy winger John Farrington and Leicester City cult hero, Steve Claridge.

Mark McGhee and Brian Little are two that has been manager at both clubs, with Rob Kelly being in charge at Leicester and previously played for both clubs.

The big duel,
Nuno v Puel, really this is a game of managers getting things straight and get more points on board. Two former European top coaches at Porto and Lyon.

August 16, 2018 0