Leicester City must strike the right balance between defense and attack when they face relegation rivals Bournemouth in a potentially decisive match on Saturday.
Despite the fact that Leicester City’s caretaker managers only had a couple of days to prepare the team for Aston Villa, there was a very clear game plan. The question now is whether that strategy is appropriate for facing Bournemouth.
City sat deeper than they had for most of the season in an attempt to tighten up at the back. Despite conceding two goals, it worked. They gave up half as many chances as they did in their previous game against Crystal Palace.
However, this defensive-first strategy limited their attacking threat to counters. Harvey Barnes’ pace allowed them to get at Villa but not create as many chances as they could, while also limiting James Maddison’s involvement.
But that was for Villa, a team on a roll under a new manager and in fine form. They face one of their relegation rivals, the Cherries, on Saturday, and a defensive approach may not be the best way to win.
What City must do is combine a more compact backline with their attacking threat in order to limit Bournemouth’s opportunities while also taking the game to them. To do so, two players should take the field.
The first is Ricardo Pereira, and it’s easy to get him in. With Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall suspended, City need to find a replacement in the middle. Given Maddison was unable to make an impact from the right on Tuesday, it makes sense to push him back inside. He may not have the energy that Dewsbury-Hall has, but he doesn’t shirk the defensive duties, while keeping Papy Mendy and Wilfred Ndidi in there should mean it’s still a strong trio in centre of the park.
That then leaves a gap on the right side. The best approach would be to push Timothy Castagne forward and play Ricardo at right-back. Castagne’s off-the-ball runs can help stretch the game, while also allowing City to penetrate down both flanks, with Barnes on the other side. The Belgian also has the stamina to press hard when City need to.
However, even though Ricardo is in the back four, City are much more of an attacking threat with him in the side. While he has only appeared in a few Premier League games this season, the data suggests he puts City in more attacking positions and makes them more dangerous.
Only Youri Tielemans has played more progressive passes and more passes into the final third per 90 minutes than Ricardo, while the Portuguese leads the way in penalty area passes. Only Barnes has more ball carries into the final third per match than the right-back.
Only Maddison, Tielemans, and Kelechi Iheanacho are involved more than Ricardo in shot-creating actions, which look at the two events preceding an effort on goal. Plus, he does all of this while remaining defensively strong.
Speaking of Iheanacho, he should be the first to go. He is simply City’s most potent attacking weapon.
He may not be able to press the game and set the tone as well as Vardy, but he is a far more dangerous threat in the final third. This season, he leads City in expected goals and expected assists per 90 minutes.
With Barnes and Castagne providing pace and penetration on either side of him, it’s not as important for Iheanacho to break the lines or get on the shoulder of the last defender. And if City wants to play deeper and more directly, Iheanacho’s strength and hold-up play will allow them to keep the ball higher up the pitch for longer.
Leave a Reply