Enzo Maresca should unleash rarely-seen £18m Leicester City ace v Southampton tonight
Enzo Maresca should start a rarely-seen Leicester City player this evening.
Leicester are back in Championship action tonight as they play host to Southampton at the King Power Stadium.
Following Leeds United’s 4-3 win against Middlesbrough yesterday, there is little room for error in the remaining three games.
Further, with Saints not totally out of the top two race, City simply cannot afford to lose tonight and must look to play on the front foot, as against West Bromwich Albion, they conceded far too many chances.
With that said, Maresca should start an £18m signing who has impressed in cameo appearances lately.
Enzo Maresca should start Dennis Praet v Southampton
The Italian head coach has a settled starting line-up and each week, there isn’t too much change.
Though, considering Wilfred Ndidi is still coming back from a long-term injury, he should drop the Nigeria international for Dennis Praet.
Praet hasn’t started a league game since February but he has really impressed off the bench in recent weeks, displaying a cutting edge in the final third which Leicester have lacked at times.
The 29-year-old is a willing runner, too, and his intelligence can free up space for the mavericks, Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi.
The wide players have been doubled up on at points, but Praet’s runs can drag defenders out of position, as he often ghosts into the channels.
Maresca has a tough decision to make upfront.
Jamie Vardy is without doubt the best striker at the club, but given he turned 37 in January, he needs to be managed and the quick turnaround from West Brom may mean he starts on the bench.
That leaves Patson Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho and Tom Cannon all vying to start against the Saints, though, the latter two have barely had a look in.
Daka has been the favoured option over the last few months with a tactics expert recently explaining why.
Notwithstanding that, Iheanacho and Cannon should be given the chance to impress from the first whistle as both have displayed more of a clinical edge than the Zambia international.
Perhaps Iheanacho, given his age, should start as he’ll be better equipped to deal with the mounting pressure of the automatic promotion race.
Though, Cannon still has an important role to play off the bench.
Enzo Maresca‘s side were 2-1 victors against West Bromwich Albion on the weekend, moving them up to 91 points, two wins away from sealing a return to the top flight.
City chiefs will be hard at work behind the scenes preparing for the summer transfer window, which is fast approaching.
If they are to realise their promotion hopes, they should look to add depth to their attacking ranks, especially out wide.
