First team

Leicester City vs Leeds United Preview

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After last weekend’s dramatic win over Brighton and Wednesday’s narrow 2-1 victory over Chesterfield, Leeds will be looking  to extend their winning streak to 3 at the King Power Stadium in the Televised game on Sunday.

The Opposition:

Throughout pre-season and against Middlesbrough and Bristol Rovers they have been trying out a 3-5-2 formation and I assume they will line up the same way.Presuming that they do play 3-5-2 ,this represents an opportunity for Ross McCormack to have a free role in behind the 3 central midfielders and in front of the 3 centre half’s.The formation they play is vulnerable to counter attacks as the 2 full backs,who are expected to get forward and defend, can get caught out and for this reason I think starting Dom Poleon would be a good idea as with his pace we can catch Leicester out on the break.Leicester have been fairly quiet with their only piece of business being Zoummana Bakayogo from Tranmere Rovers to date.Another one who could cause Leicester problems on the counter and I dare say but that could be Aidy White,who could be a good option coming off the bench and using his pace to exploit the gaps left by Leicester’s wing backs.The midfield battle will be fascinating as we have midfield enforcer Rudy Austin back,with Paul Green and Rudy Austin covering ground and breaking up play,Luke Murphy could be given a free role in which he can dictate the play.Ieicester’s midfield will probably consist of Danny Drinkwater,Matty James and Andy King,for me this is where Leicester are weakest and where the game can be won.Up front they do pose a threat with the duo of David Nugent and Chris wood,a once Leeds target, and against Tom Lees and Jason Pearce,Wood and Nugent could find a lot of joy on Sunday.

The Line up:

How I would line up

How I would line up

I am 100% sure we will continue with 4-1-2-1-2(narrow) formation for Sunday.With Stephen Warnock a doubt, I think Adam Drury will be a solid replacement at Left Back and will be preferred to Aidy White.Rudy Austin returns from suspension and I expect him to slot in centre mid alongside Luke Murphy and replace Michael Tonge in the process.Up front I think it will be all change as I don’t think Luke Varney or Noel Hunt did enough last Saturday  to keep their places for this weekend and I would play Poleon and Matt Smith because i think their attributes compliment each other well as a partneship.Dom can hurt them with his pace whilst Matt Smith can cause them all sorts of problems in the air and bring others into play.

The key battles:Rudy Austin vs Andy King

Andy King is arguably Leicester’s most creative influence and will need to be stopped in order for Leeds to get anything out of this game and who better to deal with him then returning star Rudy Austin,Rudy relishes these battles and as long as he can stay disciplined then I back him to win this.

Rudy vs Andy King could be a great battle

Rudy vs Andy King could be a great battle

Matt Smith vs Wes Morgan

The battle of the giants,If Smith who stands at 6ft6 starts on Sunday then he will come up against one of the league’s best defenders in the physical phenomenon that is Wes Morgan.If Smith can get the better of Morgan then we have a great chance of getting a positive result.

Smith vs Morgan will be an intense and physical battle

Smith vs Morgan could be an intense and physical battle

Tom Lees vs Chris Wood

Tom Lees will have to be right on his game on Sunday in order to prevent Chris Wood from opening his account for the season.The prolific striker who was a target for Leeds last January under Neil Warnock,certainly knows where the back of the net is and the powerful striker could cause Lees all sort of problems.

My prediction:

A 2-2 draw will do just fine and would represent  a valuable away point against a strong Leicester side.I also fancy Dom Poleon and Rudy Austin to get on the scoresheet.A good performance and positive result in front of the Sky cameras would cap off a great start to the season.[polldaddy poll=7310654]

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