Opposition Focus: Leicester City

Form

03/03/19 – Watford 2-1 Leicester
26/02/19 – Leicester 2-1 Brighton
23/02/19 – Leicester 1-4 C Palace
10/02/19 – Spurs 3-1 Leicester
03/02/19 – Leicester 0-1 Man Utd

Tactics

Fresh off their own new manager bounce via Brendan Rodgers, Leicester were looking to snag an away point at Watford, but unfortunately, a mix up in the backline cost them dearly – and the side went home with no points. To give a decent assessment of their play style, it would be high possession focused, but not afraid to hoof it over the top. Rodgers set up in a 3-4-2-1 for his debut and placed an emphasis to use the wingback play of Chillwell and Perreira instead of playing down the middle with Maddison and Tielemans. Ironically, the goal Leicester scored was via Tielemans through ball to Vardy, who finished easily. If Rodgers continues playing this style, he will need to find a way to get the ball to those playmakers in Tielemans, and especially James Maddison, who had averaged about 2 shots a match – but against Watford only had one shot registered. One match surely isn’t enough to judge yet though, so we will see what the home debut for Rodgers brings against us. 

Battle to Watch

Mitrovic vs Morgan: Our striker is looking to end the scoring drought, last netting 2 goals against Brighton in early February. To be fair, he has plenty of chances, and against Chelsea had shots that were on target, if not for the great saves by Kepa. Wes Morgan will be the man Mitro will need to hold off to start our attacks. Morgan’s physicality and no-nonsense play will be the kind Mitro tends to relish, but with our 4-2-3-1 system, he will have to hold up the ball just a bit longer to allow the midfield to get into position. Look for a battle of Mitro’s back to goal and Morgan directly behind him, which could either allow Mitro to maintain possession or at least distract the physical centre-backs of Leicester from the likes of Sess and Babel overlapping behind their lines. 

Danger Man

Our last match up against Leicester had no Vardy in it. Yet again, here we are with speculation that Vardy may not play again. Assuming he does not suit up, then all eyes should turn to James Maddison, who scored in the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage. If Rodgers places him alongside Tielemans, it could be a bit more difficult to mark the Leicester playmaker because the Tielemans can be just as threatening, as he’s proven in his short time with the club. Maddison will look to stay higher up the pitch to play off whoever is in the striker role, such as Iheanacho, and try to break the Fulham lines with deft through balls. Our high pressure against Chelsea should also be used here to throw the midfielder off his game. 

Last 5 Meetings

05/12/18 – Fulham 1-1 Leicester (PL)
29/10/13 – Leicester 4-3 Fulham (League Cup)
27/08/08 – Fulham 3-2 Leicester (League Cup)
17/01/07 – Fulham 4-3 Leicester (FA Cup)
06/01/07 – Leicester 2-2 Fulham (FA Cup)

Head-to-Head

Fulham wins 39
Draws 17
Leicester City wins 27

Stats & Facts

  • Fulham have lost just one of the last 10 meetings with Leicester in all competitions – a 4-3 defeat in the 4th Round of the League Cup in October 2013.
  • Fulham are unbeaten in all five Premier League meetings with Leicester (W2, D3), and have won 14 of the 23 games played in the top tier of English football (D4, L5).
  • Both teams have scored in each of the last five meetings between the clubs in all competitions; those fixtures have averaged exactly five goals per game.
  • Fulham have scored on all three of their trips to the King Power Stadium since Leicester moved to their current home in 2002 – a 2-0 Premier League win in April 2004, a 2-2 FA Cup 3rd Round draw in January 2007 and the 4-3 League Cup 4th Round defeat in October 2013. Six of those seven goals have come in the second half.
  • Scott Parker will become the fifth Fulham manager to face Leicester in as many meetings between the two clubs. He follows Claudio Ranieri, Martin Jol, Roy Hodgson and Chris Coleman before him.

Players in Common

Rufus Brevett, Paul Brooker, Danny Cadamarteri, Allan Clarke, Stan Collymore, Nick Cusack, Steve Earle, Elvis Hammond, Barry Hayles, Geoff Horsfield, Diomansy Kamara, Kasey Keller, Paul Konchesky, Frank Large, Billy Mckinlay, Simon Morgan, John Pantsil, Mark Schwarzer, Richard Stearman, Tony Warner.

Magic Moment

In April 2004, an 18-year-old from Holland burst onto the scene with a brace as Fulham nicked a 2-0 win on their first visit to the King Power Stadium. Collins John, was just 18 years and 176 days old when he came off the bench and became Fulham’s youngest goalscorer in the Premier League, a record he held until Ryan Sessegnon scored away to Cardiff in October, with 21 days to spare.

Now Fulham return to the King Power desperately needing to restore pride and come away with 3 points. Let’s hope history repeats itself with an 18-year-old sensation stealing the headlines once again.

Opposition View (@J_To_Thee_K)

There were rumours that Ranieri in his second season and Puel a few weeks ago lost the dressing room, with players having a close relationship with the hierarchy. Do you think there’s too much player power at Leicester?

I think this get’s highlighted a lot more at Leicester just because of the league win but I wouldn’t say they have at Leicester no, not as much as anyone else. Nowadays, it seems that the majority of clubs will favour the player’s over the manager just because of how much money etc is involved & it’s a lot easier to replace a manager rather than players/player if they have a problem.

What did you make of Fulham’s appointment of Ranieri in November and are you surprised that it didn’t work out?

I am surprised it didn’t work out yes, but then maybe that shows that all the abuse we took when we sacked him was untoward & we were actually right to sack him despite winning the league the season before.

Are you happy with the appointment of Brendon Rodgers?

Buzzing, it’s who I wanted & it’s probably the most excited I’ve ever been about a managerial appointment, everyone is actually looking forward to going game’s again also.

What’s the general expectation amongst Leicester fans for the future? What are you expecting Rodgers to aim towards?

I think he & the fans want the same, to obviously finish as high as possible but try & get into that last Europa league spot each season.

How do you see the game panning out?

Fairly even enough what with Parker & Rodgers both coming in new! You’ll get 2 sitters that will be missed, Mitrovic will score (probably a header) but we’ll have more possession, take a lead into halftime & push on from that.

Score prediction – I’m going for 2 out of 2 as I got this correct in the reverse fixture…….so I’m going to say 3-1 Leicester

Predicted lineup – (4-2-3-1) Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell; Tielemans, Ndidi; Gray, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy.

Thanks to Leicester supporter John Kilburn for answering our questions.

Match Prediction

Both sides are getting their second look at their new managers (even if Parker is considered interim for us), and both are looking for answers right away from their players. I would say advantage Parker as he’s been with our squad the entire season, through the ups and, mostly, downs. Rodgers just hopped off the plane a couple of weeks ago from Celtic, and losing 2-1 in dramatic fashion against Watford has surely left a nasty taste in their mouths. Our 2-1 loss to Chelsea was a taste of rejuvenation and hints of identity to circulate possession football with high-pressure defence – also known as my dream playing style, and what I feel we should have been playing all year long regardless. We’ve had compliments of players getting stuck in and playing with passion – well, what better way to do that than ensure they are pressuring opponents with the ball versus just sitting back in a Ranieri 5-3-2 shell that absorbed pressure?

Leicester will be looking to get us right out of the gates. It will be Rodgers official homecoming of sorts and all pressure resides with him in that aspect. However, we know the pressure of the table is on us, and Parker will set up with a positive lineup. I believe it will be the exact eleven that started against Chelsea, and we’ll be able to convert those chances to earn all 3 points with a 3-1 scoreline; Mitro notches a brace, while Sess scores the third. COYW!!!

Predicted Line up