Leicester vs PSV - Pre-match thread

[Bert]

I never really rated Castagne all that much until he had a prolonged time out. We’ve improved massively since he’s been back too. 

[Ric Flair]

26 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Novotel, get down there

Just delivering room service to Madueke

[frany104]

1 hour ago, Fear Of The Fox said:

What do you mean he doesn't get more support than he does? This guy is a world class player, 1st team option of one of the best national teams in the world. 

World class… behave 😂😂

[Nicolo Barella]

8 hours ago, NewquayFox said:

Kasper

Justin

Fofana

Evans

Soyuncu

Castagne

Tielemans

Dewsbury Hall

Maddison

Daka

Iheanacho

5.3.2

Hopefully Daka & Iheanacho gel together as a front 2, JJ & Timmy bombing down the wings, strong team to take a decent lead into the away leg… 

I'm not normally a fan of three at the back but the prospect of Iheanacho/Maddison/Daka is almost too good to pass up. I'd be worried about their exploiting our flanks though, they are really good at attacking down the wings.

[Nicolo Barella]

Iheanacho Maddison

Barnes Dewsbury-Hall Tielemans Albrighton

Justin Soyuncu Amartey Ricardo

 

With Daka ready to come off the bench

[sacreblueits442]

45 minutes ago, Nicolo Barella said:

Iheanacho Maddison

Barnes Dewsbury-Hall Tielemans Albrighton

Justin Soyuncu Amartey Ricardo

 

With Daka ready to come off the bench

....Nacho and Maddison too similar,(they want to take up the same space)!!!

You would want opposites, like Daka to play alongside either. I can't see Rodgers going for a two up top and he is now comfortable with a front three or a lone striker.

[Nicolo Barella]

27 minutes ago, sacreblueits442 said:

....Nacho and Maddison too similar,(they want to take up the same space)!!!

You would want opposites, like Daka to play alongside either. I can't see Rodgers going for a two up top and he is now comfortable with a front three or a lone striker.

Daka starting over Iheanacho is fine then. Functionally Maddison would make it more of a three man midfield anyway

[Tom12345]

On 04/04/2022 at 05:42, Tanya said:

I'm with @StriderHiryu and others, play KDH as the holder, which will allow Maddison to play in his natural role. We can play the more defensive Albrighton on the wing to help the backline when necessary. 

 

It's a bit of a risk but KDH loves a tackle and is good at blocking off passing lanes. We can always bring on Hamza later on in the match if they're cutting through us. 

I think so too, though I prefer Ricardo on the right. 

[Tom12345]

2 hours ago, Bert said:

I never really rated Castagne all that much until he had a prolonged time out. We’ve improved massively since he’s been back too. 

He is clearly better on the right compared to being on the left. When Justin plays, not sure why Castagne is still stuck on the left. Justin is also better in my view on the left.

 

Overall, I rate Ricardo more still.

[sacreblueits442]

1 minute ago, Tom12345 said:

He is clearly better on the right compared to being on the left. When Justin plays, not sure why Castagne is still stuck on the left. Justin is also better in my view on the left.

 

Overall, I rate Ricardo more still.

....I think Castagne will be absolutely fed up of not having a settled position!!!

The advent of Covid and the incessant injuries have not helped, but he did not come here to be switched from pillar to post. He is better on the Right and JJ is better on the Left (although at present he is having problems with the ball over his head in the Fullback position) Chilwell and Thomas have been through this, and it can be sorted out.

  With Ricardo signing the new contract, unless Castagne has been promised the Left back role, I will not be surprised if there is talk of him leaving in the summer.

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

8 hours ago, Bert said:

I never really rated Castagne all that much until he had a prolonged time out. We’ve improved massively since he’s been back too. 

As much as I like Thomas our best football under Rodgers is when hes had two progressive full backs available.

[Ric Flair]

12 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

As much as I like Thomas our best football under Rodgers is when hes had two progressive full backs available.

Weird how Barnes has looked crap again these last 2 games. Big game for him tonight.

[Tom12345]

8 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Weird how Barnes has looked crap again these last 2 games. Big game for him tonight.

Yeah. Not sure how to describe it, but in the same position Lookman manages to get the ball much more often. Barnes needs someone to find him but if he is too far advanced or getting marked, he seems unable to get into positions to pick up the ball. Not sure if it is Rodgers instructions or Barnes is too one dimensional.

Edited 7 April 2022 by Tom12345

[Ric Flair]

4 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

Yeah. Not sure how to describe it, but in the same position Lookman manages to get the ball much more often. Barnes needs someone to find him but if he is too far advanced or getting marked, he seems unable to get into positions to pick up the ball. Not sure if it is Rodgers instructions or Barnes is too one dimensional.

He's just very inconsistent in being able to run at teams and take them on, it helps when he gets the ball given to him in dangerous areas which Thomas and KDH have managed in recent months to form some decent triangle passing moves that have opened teams up.

 

Justin and Barnes were lethal together last season, Castagne and Barnes not so much. I hope Rodgers swaps it around again when everyone is back up to speed as Castagne is better on the right let's not forget.

 

Tonight, however I think Ricardo will play and it will be one of Justin or Castagne.

[Sunbury Fox]

I wonder if Rodgers is playing Justin on the right to provide pace on that side of the pitch as well as the left, given that he's decided to give up on playing Lookman on the right wing and the other options for that spot are Albrighton and Maddison. 

[Foxes96]

11 minutes ago, Sunbury Fox said:

I wonder if Rodgers is playing Justin on the right to provide pace on that side of the pitch as well as the left, given that he's decided to give up on playing Lookman on the right wing and the other options for that spot are Albrighton and Maddison. 

Yeh that’s how I’ve viewed it. With Maddison playing on the right who will naturally drift in field and doesn’t offer much by way of pace. I think Justin has been put on the right to provide some balance so that when we attack, Justin almost becomes the right winger and Maddison tucks infield in his favoured 10 position. 
 

Hopefully, once we get that elusive left footed right winger (Madueke ) we will naturally me more balanced and we’ll be able to play our full backs in their best positions as well. 

[Parko66]

I have 1 spare ticket in walkers hall if anyone is interested - as below 

 

Leicester City v PSV Eindhoven

07/04/2022 20:00

King Power Stadium

Save the Date

1 TicketsAdult
(Area Walkers Hall, row LL, seat 192)

 

£30

[MarriedaLeicesterGirl]

30 minutes ago, Foxes96 said:

 

Hopefully, once we get that elusive left footed right winger (Madueke ) we will naturally me more balanced and we’ll be able to play our full backs in their best positions as well. 

Do you think Rodgers will do that Pep "arm around the opposing player" routine?

[Supergray22]

9 hours ago, Bert said:

I never really rated Castagne all that much until he had a prolonged time out. We’ve improved massively since he’s been back too. 

I think it’s a combination defensively of all those four. Evans Wes Justin and Timmy. Not just defensively, that confidence spreads throughout. If you know your team mates have your back you can just concentrate on your job. Amartey soyuncu Thomas and riccardo have been great but collectively those four are another level. I remember when I was a younger CM we had an older experienced CB like evans and when he was in the team you felt invincible. 

[Supergray22]

50 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

He's just very inconsistent in being able to run at teams and take them on, it helps when he gets the ball given to him in dangerous areas which Thomas and KDH have managed in recent months to form some decent triangle passing moves that have opened teams up.

 

Justin and Barnes were lethal together last season, Castagne and Barnes not so much. I hope Rodgers swaps it around again when everyone is back up to speed as Castagne is better on the right let's not forget.

 

Tonight, however I think Ricardo will play and it will be one of Justin or Castagne.

Exactly. I’d go to this straightaway. Left side justin kdh and Justin just works. And you can slot Thomas in for Justin too. On the right castagne combines very well. Timmy or riccardo overlapping any one of Perez Maddison albrighton or lookman. . 

[Phoxy]

On 04/04/2022 at 20:24, Jaspa said:

 

Ajax dominate and are capable of high level play. There are four other sides who are regularly above mid table but PSV have broken away from that mini pack and are closest challengers to Ajax, with a current gap of just 4 points.

 

While Ajax are a special club, adept at nurturing and producing talent with a style of play trained into them the whole way. Ajax are also good at holding onto their players, if it's clear a player has broken the mold and is too good for the League they often still get a season or so extra out of them which helps them in the Champions League.

 

The other 4 challengers; PSV, Feyernord, Alkmaar and Twente are established teams and have been competitive for a while.  They're also adept at nurturing talent but aren't as secure as Ajax, so have to sell players sooner than their peak. It doesn't stop them being very good sides but there's a reason Ajax have won 7 of the last 10 Leagues and haven't finished outside the top 2 in that time.

 

PSV's squad seems well balanced in its composition. A mix of homegrown, with some star talents thrown it like Bruma, Van Ginkel and Zahavi. While they also have potential talents like Mandueke who they've acquired shrewdly.

 

Dutch fans are very passionate about supporting their teams, should be 90% lads in the 18-34 range visiting. Expect PSV to be quite loud for the ~1500 allocation.

I agree that Ajax dominated the league the last couple of years and with their budget I expect they will continue doing so with PSV as a solid second. 

The 19/20 season is debatable though,  because AZ had the same amount when the pandemic made the competition stop. 

 

This season they aren't that dominant and they had amazingly much luck lately. They struggle against small teams and win in the last minutes when people expected the other team to win or pull a draw against Ajax. A while ago there was a clash between PSV and Ajax and it should have resulted in a draw but the referee and VAR approved an Ajax goal which shocked me and many people because the ball was out of play, PSV would have +2 points and Ajax -2 if that goal didn't count so I think it is a close call this season. I agree to the rest of your analysis though and I like to add that we made some wrong decisions with buying the wrong players for the first squad. It's hard to compare the Dutch league to the Premier league. PSV is a top club in the Netherlands but only has a market value of 160 M euros compared to the 500+M of Leicester. People see the Dutch league as a technical league, good as a good step up for young talented players before they head to  bigger competitions (Germany, England, Italy and Spain). But even if we would have the money it would be difficult to attract bigger players because they prefer to play in the the bigger competitions.

 

This is not really a reaction to your post but just some side info about last game for everyone that's interested:  

 

Last Saturday PSV played a draw against Twente. Just like the Kopenhagen draw we were a desastre in the first half but we managed to came back from a 3-0 standings. I think Schmidt made some mistakes in the line up because Gakpo and Noni didn't start. Twente is in amazing form and the goalie of PSV made some blunders and Sangare who is one of the key players struggles a bit with his form after the Africa cup and made some big mistakes. Cody Gakpo who is linked to Arsenal is in form though and he made an amazing long shot goal when he came in. But our defence is struggling. Wingback Mauro and centre backTeze where in form, but saturday they both had an offday. Boscagli, the other centre back which is know for being good with the ball had a good period but is a bit less solid in defending. He tends to change good periods with periods with defensive mistakes. He needs to become more consistent like Teze. 

 

I'm looking forward to this game and I hope both Leicester and PSV will play well for the rest of this season. People here are excited and a lot of people here like Leicester. May the best win and let it be a fair play

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 7 April 2022 by Phoxy

[davieG]

Noni Madueke exclusive interview: PSV's English entertainer on Mario Gotze, Ruud van Nistelrooy and leaving Spurs to move abroad as a teenager

 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11914/12583752/noni-madueke-exclusive-interview-psvs-english-showman-on-mario-gotze-ruud-van-nistelrooy-and-leaving-spurs-to-move-abroad-as-a-teenager

[Ric Flair]

3 minutes ago, Phoxy said:

I agree that Ajax dominated the league the last couple of years and with their budget I expect they will continue doing so with PSV as a solid second. 

The 19/20 season is debatable though,  because AZ had the same amount when the pandemic made the competition stop. 

 

This season they aren't that dominant and they had amazingly much luck lately. They struggle against small teams and win in the last minutes when people expected the other team to win or pull a draw against Ajax. A while ago there was a clash between PSV and Ajax and it should have resulted in a draw but the referee and VAR approved an Ajax goal which shocked me and many people because the ball was out of play, PSV would have +2 points and Ajax -2 if that goal didn't count so I think it is a close call this season. I agree to the rest of your analysis though and I like to add that we made some wrong decisions with buying the wrong players for the first squad. It's hard to compare the Dutch league to the Premier league. PSV is a top club in the Netherlands but only has a market value of 160 M euros compared to the 500+M of Leicester. People see the Dutch league as a technical league, good as a good step up for young talented players before they head to  bigger competitions (Germany, England, Italy and Spain). But even if we would have the money it would be difficult to attract bigger players because they prefer to play in the the bigger competitions.

 

This is not really a reaction to your post but just some side info about last game for everyone that's interested:  

 

Last Saturday PSV played a draw against Twente. Just like the Kopenhagen draw we were a desastre in the first half but we managed to came back from a 3-0 standings. I think Schmidt made some mistakes in the line up because Gakpo and Noni didn't start. Twente is in amazing form and the goalie of PSV made some blunders and Sangare who is one of the key players struggles a bit with his form after the Africa cup and made some big mistakes. Cody Gakpo who is linked to Arsenal is in form though and he made an amazing long shot goal when he came in. But our defence is struggling. Wingback Mauro and centre backTeze where in form, but saturday they both had an offday. Boscagli, the other centre back which is know for being good with the ball had a good period but is a bit less solid in defending. He tends to change good periods with periods with defensive mistakes. He needs to become more consistent like Teze. 

 

I'm looking forward to this game and I hope both Leicester and PSV will play well for the rest of this season. People here are excited and a lot of people here like Leicester. May the best win and let it be a fair play

 

 

 

 

 

Really looking forward to this game, got a lot of admiration for this PSV side!

[Supergray22]

5 minutes ago, Phoxy said:

I agree that Ajax dominated the league the last couple of years and with their budget I expect they will continue doing so with PSV as a solid second. 

The 19/20 season is debatable though,  because AZ had the same amount when the pandemic made the competition stop. 

 

This season they aren't that dominant and they had amazingly much luck lately. They struggle against small teams and win in the last minutes when people expected the other team to win or pull a draw against Ajax. A while ago there was a clash between PSV and Ajax and it should have resulted in a draw but the referee and VAR approved an Ajax goal which shocked me and many people because the ball was out of play, PSV would have +2 points and Ajax -2 if that goal didn't count so I think it is a close call this season. I agree to the rest of your analysis though and I like to add that we made some wrong decisions with buying the wrong players for the first squad. It's hard to compare the Dutch league to the Premier league. PSV is a top club in the Netherlands but only has a market value of 160 M euros compared to the 500+M of Leicester. People see the Dutch league as a technical league, good as a good step up for young talented players before they head to  bigger competitions (Germany, England, Italy and Spain). But even if we would have the money it would be difficult to attract bigger players because they prefer to play in the the bigger competitions.

 

This is not really a reaction to your post but just some side info about last game for everyone that's interested:  

 

Last Saturday PSV played a draw against Twente. Just like the Kopenhagen draw we were a desastre in the first half but we managed to came back from a 3-0 standings. I think Schmidt made some mistakes in the line up because Gakpo and Noni didn't start. Twente is in amazing form and the goalie of PSV made some blunders and Sangare who is one of the key players struggles a bit with his form after the Africa cup and made some big mistakes. Cody Gakpo who is linked to Arsenal is in form though and he made an amazing long shot goal when he came in. But our defence is struggling. Wingback Mauro and centre backTeze where in form, but saturday they both had an offday. Boscagli, the other centre back which is know for being good with the ball had a good period but is a bit less solid in defending. He tends to change good periods with periods with defensive mistakes. He needs to become more consistent like Teze. 

 

I'm looking forward to this game and I hope both Leicester and PSV will play well for the rest of this season. People here are excited and a lot of people here like Leicester. May the best win and let it be a fair play

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great to have input like this and the sentiment is returned. It should be a great match tonight and in the return. I hope PSV supporters have a great time and that your team play well. Only not quite as good as us obviously 😀

[AKCJ]

There should be goals tonight. Two teams that know how to score goals but aren't particularly good at keeping them out!