Leicester City came so close to a first win of the Premier League season at Crystal Palace and now have another excellent opportunity to get it at home this Saturday (3pm kick-off).
The visitors to the King Power Stadium are bottom-of-the-table Everton, another of the division’s winless sides. Given the woes at Goodison, City won’t want to be defeated by them and fall below them in the Premier League standings.
Ahead of the game, Steve Cooper will be giving his thoughts. Expect talking points to be the relegation battle, VAR decisions after the controversy at Selhurst Park, injuries, selection in attacking midfield, and a potential debut for Odsonne Edouard. We are live at Seagrave to bring you updates, which you can follow on our blog below.
Players playing too many games?
“I can’t say I’ve got the personal experience of being a Premier League manager in Europe. It would be wrong for me to give a strong opinion because I’ve not lived in that world. We’ll play a lot less games than in the Championship. It’s right that it’s topical and it’s right it’s monitored. You want players to be at their best because it gives off the best image. And player welfare, you have to look after players.”
The images you have, did VAR have those?
“Some of it. But it’s not been used. Mistakes will happen. Hopefully we’ll now be on the end of a decision that goes for us. But own up to it. That’s what the players and managers do. Referees need to as well. The images they have used, he is onside, but it’s after the ball is kicked. If they did it at the moment it is kicked, he is offside. We can’t release them and we won’t. We sent them our presentation and footage, but we’ve not heard anything back.”
Response over VAR?
“We asked them to explain and it confirmed they were wrong in terms of when they stopped the game. It’s not been near the media. Everything you’ve seen on Match of the Day or Sky was wrong. We showed them that, but they’ve not come back to us since.”
Edouard v Vardy?
“Jamie has been well-known for playing on the shoulder, runs in behind, and that’s what given him the career we’ve all seen. Odsonne can offer that as well. But he can play in a couple of positions. And you just need more than one option. He has big-game experience from his time at Celtic as well. The more attacking options you can have, for changes, the better. It’s not just about the starting team, it’s about having a variety. You saw with Vards and Pato picking up injuries, we were undermanned there. We needed bodies. The quality we have, it bodes well.”
Vardy?
“He’s really hungry, really motivated. You have to consider his age in terms of his preparation. He gets excited on matchdays. Preparations allows him to be at his best. He’s had a very good start, especially considering his injury in pre-season. He’s been able to deliver even while still getting up to speed.”
VAR decision?
“We’re over it. It was an awful human error. It’s been hidden in the media. That has been as disappointing as the error itself. We have seen images that show he clearly was offside. But they froze it at the wrong time. Everything that has been seen has been a false image. We showed the Premier League that they used the wrong image. We had a massive error go against us. We don’t want it to go under the radar because that’s not fair to the players or the supporters. Errors like that shouldn’t happen. It’s why we’re changing to semi-automated. We felt very let down by it. We needed to stand up for the club and tell the Premier League what we thought.”
Big chance to win?
“We’re taking every game as it comes and treating with equal importance. They have a lot of very good players and a very experienced manager. We have to focus on what we can bring. We’re excited about the game and being at home. It’s been a brilliant training week I have to say, on the back of a difficult result and a really bad decision we’ve had to pick up with the Premier League.”
Edouard?
“It’s felt like he’s been with us for a while now. It’s allowed him to develop his relationships with team-mates and understand how we want to play. He adds good experience to the top of the pitch. He plays as a number nine but can play in slightly different positions. We want options and Odsonne is another example of that.”
Showing you’re a Premier League club?
“We definitely would like more points than we have. That’s always the number one objective. We’re frustrated we haven’t got more points because we feel we could have got more points in each game, but it’s also a motivation. But we also feel we are becoming more positive in that transition. There’s a lot of good work going on. There’s a brilliant spirit and collectiveness.”
Team news?
“Same as last week. No real change. We had a couple of bumps and bruises, but we’re as we are.”
Cooper has arrived
Stay tuned for updates.
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