Leicester City’s underwhelming start to the season continued this past weekend with a defeat away at Preston North End. The club are still yet to add options to Marti Cifuentes’ squad, and prominent players thus far are still facing links with moves away. Harry Winks and Bilal El Khannouss are among the targets, and could still depart before the deadline. Despite this, here is Leicester City’s predicted lineup as they try to move past their issues and find form against Charlton Athletic.
Leicester City Predicted Lineup vs Charlton Athletic for Championship Clash
How Leicester City Have Lined Up Recently
During the defeat at Deepdale, Cifuentes made several changes from his Carabao Cup squad against Huddersfield Town. One of the only constants in the first three games has been Jakub Stolarczyk in between the sticks, as the academy graduate has become City’s number one. The centre-back pairing of Jannik Vestergaard and Caleb Okoli returned, whilst Wout Faes came off the bench. Luke Thomas remained in the squad and has also started the first three games, whilst James Justin replaced Hamza Choudhury.
Read More: How Marti Cifuentes Has Developed A Clear Identity After Just Three Friendlies
Boubakary Soumaré has also been a consistent feature, as the Frenchman embarks upon his first season in the second tier. Meanwhile, Winks got the nod over fellow Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate Oliver Skipp. El Khannouss returned to the starting eleven as the playmaker in what could have been his last appearance in Royal Blue, as his move to Crystal Palace advances. On the wings, Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu started, but it was 16-year-old Jeremy Monga who stole the show. Leading the line was Ghanaian International Jordan Ayew, although Patson Daka joined him after the first 45 minutes.
Leicester City’s Recent Form And Tactics
Defeat to Preston North End highlighted the major issues within Cifuentes’ squad, as he lacks the right profiles. The high line used isn’t working, mostly due to the lack of pace within the backline. On the left side, Vestergaard and Thomas were constantly exploited by long balls into the channel, with the first goal even coming from this issue as Alfie Devine got in behind.
Similarly, in the second half, Justin also struggled to deal with a long ball over the top for Thierry Small. The Preston winger beat the Foxes’ full-back and squared it across to Milutin Osmajic, who should have found the back of the net. Then, to highlight the issue even more, the home side found the late winner through a quick counter-attack, when Vestergaard couldn’t keep up with Osmajic.
Read More: Marti Cifuentes: What Former QPR Manager Brings to Leicester City
Defensive issues were prominent, but even going forward, City were lacklustre for much of the first hour. The North End defenders were able to double up on Mavididi and Fatawu throughout the first half, especially as the duo didn’t have the support to combine with players in the half-space. However, this did change when Monga made his way onto the pitch, as he combined with the likes of Justin and Winks, whilst also being willing to take on his man. The wonderkid even netted his first senior goal as he drifted inside and found the bottom left corner to make it level.
Although the issues are prevalent, Cifuentes has shown promising signs through his tactical tweaks. The Spaniard is adaptable and wants to make constant adjustments, which is refreshing compared to Enzo Maresca’s system two years ago. During the game, Leicester switched to a 3-4-2-1, which allowed for more threat going forward. Moreover, Cifuentes, during the 2-1 win versus Sheffield Wednesday, brought on Winks, who managed to change the game and allowed El Khannouss to operate further forward. This also paid off as the Moroccan tallied two assists and Winks created two chances.
