StriderHiryu

10 games in is a good amount of time to do some decent analysis of the team, so what do you think of our start so far? I think it's 10/10, I really do. Expecting us to win EVERY league game after relegation and the amount of player turnover we had would be unheard of. In just 10 league games, Enzo Maresca has: Got us top of the league with the joint best start made by any club. We have scored the joint most goals We have the best defence, just months after being relegated with a terrible defence. Introduced a new style of play that can beat man-to-man marking, high presses, deep blocks and anything in between. Has reinvented some players in insane ways (Ndidi, Vestergaard) Managed his squad fantastically, no injuries for Ndidi, Ricardo or Justin. Has brought multiple exciting new players to the club who are a joy to watch. Had our lowest average age for a starting team in 10 years. Gives great press conferences Has restored pride to the club and city I thought the first 10 games would be rough, we'd be better through games 10-20 and then start surging at the halfway point. This is absurdity. Fantastic appointment, and once again happy days to be a Leicester Fan!

For the post match thread:

Live footage of KDH versus the Preston game plan:

FOOTBALL 1 - 0 ANTI FOOTBALL

TBH the game is going exactly the way I expected it too. We will probably start ramping up the pressure at about 60 minutes. Should we do it sooner than that? Yeah we probably should. It didn't take a genius to figure out they would play this way. All that said, as frustrating as it is for us, this is difficult for ANY team to break down.

The problem is that as of now, it's working. They've even had the best chance! It was always going to take time, but after a good start, we look a bit clueless. I doubt he will do it, but I would be tempted to sacrifice one of the back 3 to add another forward or midfielder. Southampton invert both fullbacks for this reason. At the moment we are making chances through the diagonal switch to our wingers. To be fair, Mavididi has been one of our better players this half. But if all we are doing is hoping he or Fatawu do something special, we might not break them down. I did say that if ever there was going to be a 0-0, this was the game for it.

This lot make Football under Sean Dyche look like Brazil 1970.

Hermansen's kicking is INSANE

The definition of parking the bus:

Could someone DM a stream please? I have one that shows Leicester but has the QPR commentary

That's too bad, I've got quite the soft spot for PNE, it's a team I like to pick in Football Manager. An iconic club that was once legendary, who graced us with the incredible Sir Tom Finney. It would be great to see in the Premier League at least once, it's a shame they couldn't do it with David Moyes all those years ago. Also, as I've said elsewhere, whilst they play defensive, it's good management in many ways. They will be at worst 3rd after tonight's game with 10 games played, above Southampton, Leeds and many more. Who knows, maybe if their manager was better backed, he could make something happen with his team? At the same time I feel a bit sorry for their fans because sometimes even if you are getting results, if the football is boring it's a tough watch. Look at the Puel era here!

I think we will have Enzo for 3 seasons minimum. He said when he was appointed that he thought "imagine if I was at a club for 6 years... how good would my team be?!" I think he is a project manager and Leicester is a GREAT project. Someone could become the Fergie / Paisley / Wenger / Klopp / Pep of our club. Pearson almost did it, Rodgers if he wasn't all about his own personal brand could have done it. Enzo does seem destined for greater things, probably back in Italy if I am being honest, but I think we will get very good mileage out of him. If we are promoted, I expect he will be HEAVILY backed in the summer window. Forget the results, forget the performances, the most impressive thing is that all of that doom and gloom has been eradicated in just a few months. Someone made a post on here "we've got our Leicester back!" and I think we all agree.

Slightly off topic, but relevant. I'm sure a lot of us are taking great delight in the current demise of Man United. But why are they a team that went from having one of the best defences in Europe to one of the worst, and structurally being a complete mess? The easy answer is their new Goalkeeper but there's a lot more to it than that. Ten Hag is trying to play a style very similar to peak Klopp, a 433 with two high pressing 8's and just one CDM pivot in Casimeiro. But the players aren't used to the pressing triggers, or in some cases like Rashford, don't press at all. As a result when they lose the ball they are wide open and there are so many gaps between the lines that teams can easily create threatening situations against them. Now compare that style to Enzo's system. So far we have definitely not unlocked our attack, it's not like we are creating 10 high quality chances a game. But on the transition and defensively we are in much better shape. That defensive confidence then gives the rest of a team a platform to build on. So for those that think we should make more chances, I agree! But I think the Maresca has approached this the right way, get that fundamental platform stable and consistent first, then develop the attack.

I can only see these guys scoring from a set piece, as far as I'm aware they don't even have that much pace on the break, a big weakness in my opinion. They are really a dogged team that make it as hard as possible to score against. And apart from their last match, had achieved that very well. I think sometimes you have to put yourself in their manager's shoes. Not everyone has the luxury of playing a free-flowing attacking team backed by millions. At worst, they will be in the top 3 after 10 games, and I'm sure all of their fans would have taken that come the start of the season. However, their data shows they are getting lucky, and they won't keep this up across the whole season, whereas Ipswich are legitimately very good and unless they get by tons of injuries are probably going to be fighting us for top spot. Preston will easily stay in the division, but unless they start changing some aspect of the way they play, I can't see them getting to the play-offs.

Yep, plus he's bang at it, that goal he scored was something I think only he could do in this division. But with 3 games a week, I expect he's the one that comes on, but doesn't start. That's not even a slight on his name, this game might be one where the impact subs need to make exactly that. Vardy against tired players works in our favour.

That would be more than plausible. Preston play with physicality, not pace. Souttar, Faes and Hamza are great in that regard. However, if it's a game where we have over 70% possession, which is likely, then you probably want your best ball players in the team.

Leicester City vs Preston Pre-Match (Serious) This is so far the most defensive team in the league. They have made a great start, but the underlying data suggest they've over performed quite significantly Typically, play a 541 shape. Don't let their 3-5-2 lineup on the pre-match graphic fool you, these guys are safety first and have 9 men behind the ball at almost all times. Whilst they don't create much, they really don't give much either. They just lost 4-0, but that was a harsh scoreline. It is telling though that despite being 4 down, they only had one shot on target in the entire game. An early goal here would be the ideal scenario. Equally, conceding early will mean we are in for a long night. Be prepared for a frustrating evening, these guys will make the Bristol City game look like an open game of football. I expect Iheanacho to start instead of Vardy, this is one of those games where a false 9 is good, as you ideally want to draw the centre backs out to make space in behind them. That said, there is a big chance they will just sit in their block and let us play in their third. If ever there was going to be a game for a 25 yard banger from Abdul Fatawu, this game has his name on it. Most likely it will be a case of tiring them out and grabbing the win late on with subs. Casadei could be a good option in this game. They play quite a physical style, his size and frame could give us an additional focal point when attacking. ^ As you can see, Preston are one of the least attacking teams in the league. That said xGA of 0.3 and 0.5 is some going. ^ A recent away game at Stoke. Did they even play a striker?

Leicester City vs Preston Pre-Match (Serious) This is so far the most defensive team in the league. They have made a great start, but the underlying data suggest they've over performed quite significantly Typically, play a 541 shape. Don't let their 3-5-2 lineup on the pre-match graphic fool you, these guys are safety first and have 9 men behind the ball at almost all times. Whilst they don't create much, they really don't give much either. They just lost 4-0, but that was a harsh scoreline. It is telling though that despite being 4 down, they only had one shot on target in the entire game. An early goal here would be the ideal scenario. Equally, conceding early will mean we are in for a long night. Be prepared for a frustrating evening, these guys will make the Bristol City game look like an open game of football. I expect Iheanacho to start instead of Vardy, this is one of those games where a false 9 is good, as you ideally want to draw the centre backs out to make space in behind them. That said, there is a big chance they will just sit in their block and let us play in their third. If ever there was going to be a game for a 25 yard banger from Abdul Fatawu, this game has his name on it. Most likely it will be a case of tiring them out and grabbing the win late on with subs. Casadei could be a good option in this game. They play quite a physical style, his size and frame could give us an additional focal point when attacking. ^ As you can see, Preston are one of the least attacking teams in the league. That said xGA of 0.3 and 0.5 is some going. ^ A recent away game at Stoke. Did they even play a striker?

Leicester City vs Preston North End Pre-Match Preview: Nice easy one to predict how this game's going to go :

I've gone all out for my pre-match preview this time round folks:

This twitter account auto produces them, but it hasn't done the Leicester game so I don't know. Maybe contribute to the thread by finding a good source and posting it here?

Scores a goal, then runs up to the man marking him and two-foots him to celebrate. "The Fatawu Way"