Form
01/12/18 – Leicester 2-0 Watford
27/11/18 – Leicester 0-0 Southampton (EFL Cup, Leicester won 6-5 on pens)
24/11/18 – Brighton 1-1 Leicester
11/10/18 – Leicester 0-0 Burnley
03/11/18 – Cardiff 0-1 Leicester
Tactics
Leicester City set up in a 4-2-3-1 in the attack, and stay in a high pressing 4-4-2 in defence. Top scorers Jamie Vardy and James Maddison switch off which centre back to press, and the likes of Gray and Albrighton pressure on each side. This high pressure sets up the immediate counter-attacks with penetrating through passes to Vardy, and when that’s off, they find their wingers who bring in the full backs to mix up between tucking in or to stay wide in order to cross the ball in. The side is well drilled, and have strong anchors in the centre of the pitch with Mendy and Ndidi. Mendy may be of a smaller frame, but his tenacity is remarkable and does not hold back in getting stuck in. In goal is the ever-present Kasper Schmeichel, and protecting him and the Leicester goal are the force of Wes Morgan and Harry Maguire, however, Maguire may be doubtful, so in will step the veteran, Jonny Evans.
Battle to Watch
Jean Michael Seri vs Nampalys Mendy: One player is starting to come into his own, while the other is the height of criticism each week. Both are former OGC Nice players and should know each other’s game well. Seri had a poor match against Chelsea, and a resounding cry to replace the inconsistent midfielder is resounding throughout the Fulham faithful. Mendy looks to be up for each match but has also not been without his own criticisms due to his smaller frame and tendency to play too simple passes instead of the counterattack friendly passes. It will be an interesting match up to see if Mendy continues his progress, or if Seri turns in a performance that will win back the fans.
Danger Man
With Jamie Vardy out due to injury, the focus has to shift to James Maddison, who is looking to be in fine form this season with 4 goals, proving his worth after signing on from Norwich City this year. Maddison scored against Watford as well after controlling a brilliant long ball from Marc Albrighton with his chest, then knee, before slotting away the finish. Maddison sits in the gap behind the striker, but pushes the line forward defensively in a 4-4-2, so our defenders will be under significant pressure early I imagine. We have to be careful not to over-commit as he can be quite nimble on the ball, and can thread in a pass or two.
Last 5 Meetings
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)
10/04/04 – Leicester 0-2 Fulham (Premier League)
Head-to-Head
Fulham wins 39
Draws 16
Leicester City wins 27
Stats & Facts
- Fulham have lost just 1 of the last 9 meetings with Leicester in all competitions – a 4-3 defeat in the 4th Round of the League Cup in October 2013, the most recent fixture between the clubs.
- Fulham are unbeaten in their 4 Premier League-era meetings with Leicester (W2, D2), and have won 14 of the 22 games played in the top tier of English football (D3, L5).
- The last 4 meetings between the clubs – all in cup competitions – have averaged 5.75 goals per game with Fulham scoring 12 and Leicester scoring 11.
- The last 5 meetings in all competitions have seen 9 goals scored in the final 10 minutes of matches; all 5 games have also included a goal scored in the 89th minute or beyond.
- However, Leicester have failed to score against Fulham in the last 4 league meetings. The Foxes’ last league goal against the Whites was Ian Wilson’s strike in their 1-0 win at Craven Cottage in April 1983; a result that ultimately meant Leicester would win promotion to the top-flight at Fulham’s expense.
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 2007, a lower league Leicester City took Fulham to a replay at the Cottage in the FA Cup. It was a tale of two halves as the Foxes led 3-1 at halftime. Cue a game-changing substitution as new signing Vincenzo Montella was brought on to replace McBride and it took the Italian just 13 days to show off what a top class player he was.
Fulham came back to 3-3 with Montella bagging a brace after only 8 minutes of being on the pitch. As the game came to a close, extra time was looming before Wayne Routledge produced a moment of magic with what would be his only goal for the club. He flicked the ball past two Leicester players, shook off another and, as the referee played advantage for a foul, advanced into the penalty box and placed the ball beyond Henderson. It was a brilliant solo run and a goal worthy of winning such an end to end cup tie.
Opposition View (@J_To_Thee_K)
What were your expectations going into this season?
Was hoping for a top 10 finish & potentially pushing for a Europa League place along with getting to the quarter-final of at least one cup.
What went wrong with Ranieri in the end and are there any warning signs we should look out for?
No one wanted him to go as such but we all knew it was coming & his time with those player’s had just run its course. He tried being loyal to the player’s & it looked like the play had changed to more possession-based which the players didn’t seem able to adapt to & a lot of games we didn’t even look like scoring let alone get any points.
I don’t think you can look out for anything really as that first season was unreal & a bit of a freak occurrence & it was always gonna be difficult after that.
What kind of reception do you expect Ranieri to get from the Leicester supporters tomorrow and do you think he will keep Fulham up?
Sir Ranieri will ALWAYS get a fantastic reception from Leicester fan’s wherever, whenever… there’s no doubt about that!
I’d like to think he will yes, I think you have a decent enough team compared to a few other’s that are involved down there.
You must be very proud of your football club for the way it handled the weeks that followed the tragic loss of your Chairman?
Indeed, of course, he did so so much for the club & the city, it’s just a shame that everyone except Leicester fans are only just finding out about how good Vichai was as a human & a chairman in such tragic circumstances, but I’m sure Top will carry on the legacy.
The rumours are that Jamie Vardy is injured, how will this impact on your sides approach going into the game?
For me, it totally changes the team as we lose one of our leaders. I also often wonder when Vardy doesn’t play, where our goals will come from, as we’ve no other striker who can get in behind with pace & his work rate. We just seem lightweight if he’s not there……hopefully it’s mind games though & he’ll play!
How do you think the game will pan out?
Both teams will have their stages where they will be controlling the game & it’ll be who can do something when they are on top as I don’t think there will be many clear-cut chances.
Score prediction – 1-1
Predicted line Up – 4-2-3-1
Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Mendy N didi; Albrighton Maddison Gray; Iheanacho.
Thanks to Leicester City supporter, John Kilburn for answering our questions.
Match Prediction
The Chelsea match is still fresh, and the feedback has been positive overall it would seem. While we looked solid against the Blues, we have a risk of becoming frail if a loss would occur against Leicester City. Leicester are chalked filled with talent and pace, and this is exactly the type of match that will test every ounce of our team, our manager and our fans. I expect us to continue in the 4-2-3-1 formation which worked well, for the most part, against Chelsea. We will sit back to counterattack, but I fear Leicester’s counterattack level is obviously more seasoned, and considering their run of form, we could be in for quite the battle against their own 4-2-3-1.
What is positive for me is that Leicester showed some holes in defence against Watford in the second half as they were faced with a higher press, and struggled to clear their lines on several occasions. Watford were unable to take advantage of their multiple chances, however, so there may be a false sense of security building that hopefully, we can take advantage of. Where Leicester are dangerous is their own high lines to press the length of the pitch versus dropping into a compact shell. If we were a couple more matches under Ranieri, I’d say that we could try a high press similar, but keeping things simple is the priority right now as the new boss leads into only his third match with us.
As it’s been said, the Chelsea match was a positive one despite the result, but we need to have concentrated on our communication and more clinical in our crosses. Calum Chambers was the MOTM, and lead with 3 shots on frame. We need to take advantage of good positions taken up and send the ball into a dangerous position for Mitro’s head as we did against Southampton. I think changes will be minimal for our lineup, but enough that Leicester’s pace will force Ranieri to finally play Joe Bryan, and LeMarchand gets some much-needed rest on the bench. With Schurrle most likely out still, it is another proving point for Kamara to show that he can handle being a right-sided midfielder. He showed spurts of this against Chelsea but still seems to lack a sure touch on occasion. What will be needed is his pace and strength to unglue a strong performing Ben Chilwell of Leicester’s defence. Here’s also to hoping that Sessegnon can shake off the skewed performance in which he was placed on the unfamiliar right wing against Chelsea as well. All eyes will be on Jean Michael Seri though, and I believe the matchup against his former OGC Nice club mate in Nampalys Mendy will test him further. If Seri can be put in a position to put in some threaded passes and show some solidarity in defence, I think he will slowly win back some more Fulham hearts. I’m going to be so bold as to predict that despite Leicester City’s form and pace, we’re going to edge them out at the Cottage with a 3-1 performance. I’m calling goals for Mitro via a penalty, goal for Christie off a deflection and a goal for Seri to finish it off. COYW!!
Predicted Line-up
