Fullbacks pushing high, a screening midfielder who can play good switching passes and inverted wingers with Jamie Vardy feeding off them for the whole season with the defense solidarity of Johnny Evans and Ça?lar Söyüncü protecting a very ambitious counter-attacking team that prizes possession more than anything else has been the success mantra for Brendan Roger’s young Leicester side.
However, star players like Ben Chilwell, James Maddison,, Christian Fuchs, Ricardo Pereria, and Daniel Amartey still out injured which have played such a pivotal role in Brendan Roger’s pragmatically proven fluid- possession-based football have forced him to retreat to another type of formation which can work off his principles, being the 3-4-3 which he has used to lineup his foxes since Project Restart. However, with the meeting on Sunday against Manchester United having the magnitude no less than a Cup Final and their star defender Ça?lar Söyüncü being suspended for the game, it seems very unlikely that Brendan will retreat back to the 3-4-3 (which depends highly on defensive solidarity ) which was very easily found out by “ The Special One “ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tactical Analysis & Predictions of Leicester City’s Gameplan Predictions:
“Leicester City “[want]” Champions League, Manchester United “ [need] “ champions league “
These were the words of a usually calm but driven Brendan Rodgers in his pre-match press conference for the Sunday finale. Instantly this gives off the scent of Brendan’s conservative thoughts regarding the match and his perception of how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to approach this match. Brendan Rodgers has been in the thick of football for a long time now and he well knows that while being back in a corner, winning anyhow is the only thing that matters and with him having more injuries than he can afford right now, Brendan might just be looking to feed off Manchester United’s thirst for the Champions League in a bid to win the match.
Jose Mourinho played out a 4-2-3-1 formation which switched between 4-1-4-2 and 4-4-2 against the foxes and ended up winning the game 3-0. Brendan Rogers’ side were unfortunately depleted in what turned out to be a torrid afternoon for his side. Absentees, Ça?lar Söyüncü, Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira gave starts to Ryan Bennett, who struggled on the right of a center-back trio, and with Ça?lar Söyüncü being out of contention due to suspension the 3-4-3 is not out of question for Brendan Rodgers due to the simple lack of a recognized first-team center-back against an inform United attack.
Brendan Rodgers as he signaled in his press conference too, might just go for a conservative approach to back United in a corner knowing that it has worked this season for other teams playing the reds with West Ham and Southampton being the most recent ones.
Final Formation Layout and Tactics Explained
A 5-2-3 formation with Kasper Schmeichel in goal Johnny Evans Wes Morgan and Ryan Bennet retaining their center-back roles and James Justin and Luke Thomas (potentiality Marc Albrighton too) can be deployed at fullback with the responsibility to press and drive ahead when necessary for the counter-attack and trackback for the reverse effect.
A potent pivot in the form of Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi would continue to be the solution as pivot midfielders to release Jamie Vardy up top with Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes operating as semi inverted wingers and central attacking midfielders in behind Vardy.
Leicester shouldn’t be written off for using these tactics in their penultimate game of the season as their natural pressing nature and a quick succession of passes continues to flow within the Foxes as stats go to show and it can prove to be a huge conundrum for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in context of choosing his 11 and the tactics which can win him and the reds their final game of the season on MatchDay 38 at The King Power Stadium.
Statistics showing a confident and potent counter-attacking side that is capable of preserving possession at the same time.
This is a team that wants to keep the ball, go on the counter with pace and win it back quickly should they lose it. This will reflect nonetheless in the Leicester side when they are given the chance to break irrespective of their conservative mindset going into this game.
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