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Leicester City vs Everton: 16/12/2020 – match preview and predicted starting XIs

Leicester City vs Everton

Date: 16/12/2020

K/O: 18:00

Venue: King Power Stadium

Referee: Lee Mason

TV: Amazon Prime

Leicester and Everton face off on Wednesday afternoon in a clash of two top-six contenders. Both teams have smashed open the usual running order of the Premier League this year and could be well on their way to securing European football. Everton have stabilised after a bit of a weak spell, picking up four points from their last two games, and are looking to push into the top six again.

But Leicester seem to be a step ahead in this process though, having done so last year, and being four points and places above Everton. Past fixtures suggest this could be a bit of a cracker – especially with what is at stake this time around.

More games, fewer problems

Leicester City’s dominant win over Brighton on Sunday was exactly what fans wanted from their first performance going into this cycle of three games in a week. Leicester’s fantastic first-half performance was marked by a formation switch only ten minutes in, that allowed them to consistently open up Brighton’s defence with fast football. Special mentions obviously go to James Maddison, as his curling effort is surely in line for the goal of the month, and James Justin as well – whose relentless work both offensively and defensively down the right flank proved the key for Leicester’s dazzling win.

A congested schedule ultimately proved Leicester’s downfall last year, as when Christmas arrived and the games came thick and fast their stellar form faded and their descent towards fifth from second began. But Leicester won’t be phased by that this year – namely because they’ve been dealing with a congested schedule all season long. Due to the Europa League, Leicester have been playing two games a week since the start of October and, besides a small uneasy patch after the international break, have not looked phased by it.

They have been able to rotate effectively, utilising a growing squad to its fullest extent, and with the return of key players at what looks to be the perfect time they are set for even more success over Christmas.

The key feature of Leicester’s rotation is their forwards: the Foxes rotate their playstyle as they rotate their attacking players. In the midweek games, Leicester play Cengiz Under, Harvey Barnes, and Kelechi Iheanacho – two pacey wingers and a striker who can drop deeper to provide build-up play for them. For example, against AEK Athens last week, both the wingers found themselves on the scoresheet.

But at the weekends, Leicester play Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, and Ayoze Perez – a number 9 who is looking to get beyond the defence and score goals, and two attacking midfielders who can build up for him while providing goal contributions of their own. Against Sheffield United Vardy and Perez were the scorers, and against Brighton, it was Maddison and Vardy. Brendan Rodgers has paired his attacking options to perfectly suit each other, and it is working better than even he imagined. I expect Leicester to utilise their wingers against Everton, then bring back their attacking midfielders on the weekend.

No way through

Everton looked like they came into their game with Chelsea with one goal in mind: to deny the Blues from scoring. If that was the plan, then one can say that it worked to perfection. Chelsea tried and strived all night to try and find a way through the Toffees, but they simply couldn’t. They fell at every hurdle and, while some might blame the Chelsea attackers, clearly it could not be possible without stalwart defensive work from players like Michael Keane.

Everton took full advantage of some dire goalkeeping from Edouard Mendy to win themselves a penalty, then set up shop from there. It was such a comfortable and confident display that, despite the fact Chelsea had the ball for the majority of the second half, they never once looked like reaching the goal. Chelsea have been an imperious offensive force at times this season, scoring four against Sevilla, three against Leeds, and so on, but have looked frail when coming up against low defensive blocks – and Carlo Ancelotti exploited that marvelously.

It might be a tactic they want to repeat this Wednesday when they come up against Leicester – though the Foxes have not struggled as much when playing against low-blocks (4-2 win against Burnley, 2-1 win against Sheffield). Leicester struggle more, at home especially, when the other side turns up to play (1-2 loss to Fulham, 0-1 loss to Aston Villa, 0-3 loss to West Ham). There will be no doubt Ancelotti has spotted this, but the looming question could be over Everton’s squad. Will they have the depth, or the legs, to be able to come out and play against a Leicester side who has proved that they can thrive when playing twice a week?

Team News

Leicester City

Leicester City could welcome back absentee full-back Timothy Castagne after Brendan Rodgers said he would undergo a late fitness test before the game. A return for the Belgian would be a welcome sight for the Foxes, though the fullbacks who have been filling in have been nothing short of excellent. Other than that, Leicester are still without their host of long-term injured players: Ricardo, Soyuncu, and Amartey all remain out. Johnny Evans will miss the match through suspension.

Everton

Seamus Coleman, Lucas Digne, Fabian Delph, and James Rodriguez will remain out for this fixture, as Everton’s squad is largely unchanged after last week. Jean-Phillipe Gbamin remains out with his longer-term injury. Though Ancelotti has said that he wants to rotate more, many of his side seem to be in the “undroppable” category and there may not be a great deal of changes for this fixture against Leicester.

Predicted Starting XIs

Leicester (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Justin, Fofana, Fuchs, Thomas; Tielemans, Mendy, Praet; Under, Iheanacho, Barnes

Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; Kenny, Mina, Keane, Godfrey; Gomes, Allan, Sigurdsson; Bernard, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison

Score Prediction: Leicester 2-1 Everton

Leicester are playing well currently and, although Everton are too, the Toffees are not used to mid-week games and rotation in the same way the Foxes are. If playing a largely unchanged side, and needing to play on the front foot, they might struggle against Leicester’s fitness and fresh players.

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