There are still a few days of training for Leicester City players to catch the manager’s eye and perhaps change his thinking, but the opportunity to impress in pre-season matches has now passed.
City’s Premier League return is just days away and Steve Cooper will have a broad idea of the line-up he plans to field against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday (8pm). The likes of Mads Hermansen and Harry Winks are almost certainly going to start.
But there are a couple of positions that are still up for debate, so we have taken a look at the most contentious areas of the City starting line-up.
Given he was one of City’s best performers last season, his quality in tight areas integral to the success of the style of play, it was a surprise that Ricardo Pereira did not start either of the club’s final two pre-season friendlies. His absence from the 11 against Augsburg, when others required game-time to improve their fitness, was understandable, but to then also be on the bench at Lens suggested he may not make Cooper’s team against Spurs.
The choice looks to be between Ricardo and Victor Kristiansen. James Justin seems a strong bet to start, given he can play on both sides of the back-line, and in either of the two full-back roles, bombing on or tucking in.
Going forward, Kristiansen has the greater energy of the pair for what is a demanding role in getting up and down the flank, but Ricardo is the more dangerous player in the final third and better at linking play with team-mates too. Defensively, Ricardo has the greater nous and experience.
After six months at Brighton, and six months after Argentina won the World Cup, Buonanotte earned his first senior cap. His promotion to the squad was perhaps helped by a recommendation from then Brighton team-mate Alexis Mac Allister.
The midfielder, now at Liverpool, got the heads up on Buonanotte from his brother Francis, who was a team-mate of the teenager’s at Rosario Central. Then, after playing alongside him, predicted he would have a bright future.
About The Author
