How should Leicester City line up against Chelsea?
Harvey Barnes’ ankle injury makes him a doubt to face Chelsea at the weekend and leaves Brendan Rodgers with just one fit winger in the squad. If Barnes is out, how should Leicester line up against the snakes from Stamford Bridge?
3-5-2 seems the logical answer to this and I think that's what we will do, but I'd personally go with the diamond. Ricky P seems the perfect player for wing back, but I think he's much better starting deep which that shape would allow.
Tetê has started to come under scrutiny from fans who understandably are lacking patience, so I think getting him out the limelight and having the option to come off the bench will help him.
The thought of having 3 CBs on the pitch just fills me with dread that there's an extra one of them to pass sideways between each other.
Dewsbury-Hall is the most obviously left footed player and Praet has done a job across everywhere in a midfield they naturally fit either side of the diamond. So, if you play N'Didi, Dewsbury-Hall, Praet, Maddison as the 4. Kel and Daka upfront would suit them both too.
Becky Taylor
There must, surely, be another human being at Leicester City football club who can play on the wing. This has bothered me for a while. Is every development team at the club imitating the wingless wonders? What’s going on?
Sometimes you just have to throw in a young player. Whether it’s Wanya Marçal-Madivadua (who is 20 years old, not an embryo who just turned up for the under-5s), or someone else, it’s absolutely mental to me that apparently the only two players in the entire squad who can play near the touchline are Harvey Barnes and Tete.
Basically: do that. Our defence is rubbish whether we have one defender or ten. Three at the back is a horrendous mismatch against Chelsea’s false-9, and I’m not sure I can take watching even more slow centre backs lumbering around.
The only good bit of the team is in attack. Keep the system the same and trust the quality of Maddison, Iheanacho, and Tete to shine through. And maybe you discover one of your youngsters can actually play a bit.
James Knight
I'd like to see us revert to the 3-4-1-2 that Rodgers has previously employed during his tenure, albeit would probably mean Amartey starts alongside Souttar and Faes given Evans' injury problems and his refusal to include Soyuncu or Vestergaard.
Ricardo has looked good since his return and Castagne is more than capable playing on the left and I'd also like to see Ndidi return to give us a physical presence alongside the energy of Dewsbury-Hall in midfield.
That should free up Maddison to play in the 10 (instead of moving him out wide) and would suit both Iheanacho and Daka in a two up front against Chelsea's back three. I think Tete still needs to get used to the pace and physicality of the Premier League and he would be a good option off the bench should we need to go back to a 4-2-3-1.
It's not a free hit by any means and given Chelsea's current form, we need to start quickly, press high and get in their faces and stop them playing. There's no reason why we can't get anything out of the game.
Jordan Halford
In my view we would have no choice but to revert to a 3-5-2 with no replacement wingers. This would give us the opportunity to take Tete out of the side after a difficult few weeks, keeps Maddison in his best position, and provides a strike partnership which seems optimal for all three of our strikers.
It also takes some pressure off our fledgling defensive duo, especially if Evans is ready. For me it would be:
Ward; Ricardo, Ndidi (Evans if fit), Souttar, Faes, Castagne; Mendy, KDH, Maddison; Iheanacho, Vardy
Matt Jedruch
When I saw this question I straight away had in mind a detailed response, carefully constructing an argument around a move to a 532. We'd have wing backs, an extra defender, Madders in his best position, a strike partnership to replace the increasingly ineffective sole striker and we'd party like it was 2021 (well, the FA Cup bit anyway)...but then I remembered we'd still have Danny Ward in goal!
It's irrelevant what system we play because whoever we're up against and especially a team like Chelsea, will always have at least a couple of above-average shots at goal. Do that and they'll score past the hapless Ward.
Therefore, who replaces Barnes if he's injured? I don't mind. The only change I want is in goal.
Iain Wright
