A poor start to the 2017-18 season saw Craig Shakespeare get the sack at Leicester City. The Englishman was put in charge after the club parted ways with their title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri but Shakespeare failed to last even 12 months at the club.
He had a pretty decent summer bringing in players like Adrien Silva and Kelechi Iheanacho but was unable to get the team to gel together fast enough. Disappointing results in both home and away fixtures saw Leicester slump down the table and the club decided to give him the sack.
His replacement arrived in the form of Claude Puel. Puel was given the charge of a rather scattered team with a lot of potential. He set to work quietly and quickly figured out the USP of this Leicester City team.
The players were drilled better in defence and the focus was shifted to a fast tempo attack. With players like Jamie Vardy, Riyadh Mahrez and Demarai Gray in the squad, the Foxes had tremendous speed in attack and Puel used this to build his team keeping that strength in mind. His midfield, consisting of cool heads like Vicente Iborra and energetic dynamites like Wilfried N’didi, also started to show their mettle and the Leicester team was given a new balance.
The results improved dramatically and Leicester were on an unbeaten run. However, recently the club has lost its way again as they slumped to 5 defeats in 6 matches prior to their win against Arsenal. The match against the Gunners saw Leicester kick back some momentum as the Foxes came away with a 3-1 win.
Fast, fluid football was once again on display as they became the seventh home team to inflict a defeat on Arsene Wenger’s men this year. Their last match is now against Tottenham Hotspur who recently ensured a top-four place and will be relaxed in their matchup against Leicester.
The Foxes will want a repeat the performance of their midweek tie and here is how Puel might set his team up.
Formation: 4-4-2
Defence
Eldin Jakupovic can be seen in goal. Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan should continue as the two centre backs with Danny Simpson on the right and Christian Fuchs on the left.
Midfield
Fousseni Diabate can operate from the left with Riyad Mahrez on the right. Adrien Silva should start with Hamza Choudhury from the centre.
Attack
Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho could be the duo to play up front.
