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Tuesday 5 August 2014

Team Previews - Leicester

Predicted Line-Up:

Strengths: 

Goals - Leicester have plenty of players who have proven themselves to be capable goalscorers. Ulloa, Nugent and Wood have all scored a lot of goals wherever they have been and Knockaert is more than capable of adding goals from midfield. 

Stopping Goals - Kasper Schmeichel may not quite have yet reached the level of his father, but he is still a terrific goalkeeper who is more than capable of changing games and winning Leicester some extremely valuable points. Wes Morgan is a very talented centre-back who has been playing at a level that was maybe beneath him for a while now, so it seems that he will finally have his chance to play at the top level.

Weaknesses:

Lack of Premier League Experience - Whilst Leicester have some very experienced players not too many of them have actually played at the top level which may prove to be a real problem. A lot of teams around them who they may be in a relegation battle with have a lot of experience which could hinder Leicester's chances.

Left-Back Problem - Neither Konchesky nor Schlupp are particularly great defenders and whilst this was fine in the Championship, they could come unstuck against top class right wingers. Even though Konchesky is experienced he wasn't brilliant at a younger age, never mind later on in his career.

Potential Lack of Quality - Whilst Leicester have a lot of players who are superb at Championship level, this may be a step-up they can't deal with. Players such as Upson, Nugent, Drinkwater and Knockaert need to step up to deal with the improved quality.

Signings:

Marc Albrighton - One mark of how good a player is is how upset fans are when they leave. Most Villa fans were upset to see Albrighton leave, which should encourage Leicester fans. He's quick, direct and likes to cross the ball, which should be perfect for Ulloa. Albrighton could be a very good signing if Leicester can keep giving him the ball.

Leonardo Ulloa - At a very steep price of £8m, Ulloa has made the leap up to a higher level that Leicester will be hoping he'll be able to make. He's a very capable striker who can score all types of goals, but he's especially good in the air, which means that Leicester will be able to score goals from crosses and long balls as well as feeding balls in behind for Nugent.

Louis Rowley - I don't know much about him but he's young and versatile, capable of playing in midfield or left-back, but I'm not sure how good he is. This may be a very good signing if Rowley is good enough, but I think it might be one for the future.

Who They Should Sign:

A Central Defender - Matthew Upson is not in the prime of his career and I'm not sure he's good enough for the Premier League any more, so finding a partner for Morgan should be a priority.

A Left-Back - I'm not convinced in the players that Leicester have on the left side of the defence, so signing a better defensive full back would be very handy.

Final Thoughts:

Leicester are probably going to struggle this season, but I think they may just about have enough to keep them up. They have players who are capable of scoring goals which is often what relegated teams struggle with, so they will rely on the goals of players like Nugent and Chris Wood to win them games. 

Leicester's season will hinge on games against teams in the lower half of the league, which means that they need their midfield to control games against them, so Leicester will need Drinkwater to have as good a season this year as he did last. With Schmeichel in goal they have a safety net if all doesn't go to plan too, which could be invaluable. 

Leicester might just stay up if they can keep teams out, as they should not struggle with goals too much. With one or two more signings at the back I think they will be fine.

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