Leicester City Predicted Lineup Vs Preston North End for August 16

Disappointing performances against both Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town have exposed Leicester City’s issues. Marti Cifuentes has had little to work with thus far, as Asmir Begovic remains his sole arrival. With the likes of Bilal El Khannouss, Harry Winks, and Abdul Fatawu all linked to moves away, City’s problems could exacerbate. Despite this, the club’s attention now turns to another trip up north. Here is Leicester City’s predicted lineup as they face Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End.

Leicester City Predicted Lineup vs Preston North End for Championship clash

How Leicester City Have Lined Up Recently

In Wednesday’s defeat, Cifuentes made several personnel changes within his 4-3-3 system. Jakub Stolarczyk made his second appearance of the campaign, whilst veteran keeper Asmir Begovic remained on the bench. A centre back pairing of academy graduate Ben Nelson and Wout Faes featured for the first time since a 2-1 defeat in early March of 2024. Luke Thomas started his second consecutive game of the season, whilst goal scorer Hamza Choudhury appeared on the right.

An unchanged duo in midfield saw Boubakary Soumaré return in the regista role, and Oliver Skipp in the box-to-box position. In a similar fashion to the weekend’s victory, Winks replaced his fellow Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate and once again made an instant impact. Meanwhile, academy graduates Will Alves, Jeremy Monga, and Kasey McAteer all started in the attacking roles with Zambian international Patson Daka leading the line.

Leicester City’s Recent Form And Tactics

Following an underwhelming performance versus the Owls, City’s struggles continued with an early cup exit. Although Cifuentes’ side controlled possession for much of the first half, they struggled to create clear-cut chances, and overly relied on 16-year-old Monga. After a lackluster first 45, both sides began to take more risks, which in turn led to an end-to-end affair.

Choudhury and Winks utilised their quality to help the Foxes take the lead, but the home side remained competitive throughout. The statistics also suggest that the final third was one of the problems once again. The Foxes failed to create any big chances and just three shots on target, which, when compared to the Terriers’ six shots on target and three big chances, is dismal. City constantly looked exposed at the back, and many players struggled to produce any quality.

Skipp once again couldn’t assert himself into the game, whilst others like Nelson and Choudhury had their fair share of mistakes. Problems with the system were always likely, as it is a high-risk approach that requires a lot from the players through intense pressing and rotations. Therefore, the performances are due to the lack of time Cifuentes has been given as manager, and the lack of activity in the transfer market. Certain players don’t look like they want to be there, and the Spaniard needs his own profiles that suit the way he wants to play.

However, one promising sign was the talented young players who made the step up to the first team. Both Monga and Louis Page stood out as bright sparks, especially considering they are still teenagers. Monga was a threat throughout the first half and constantly looked to beat his man and make something happen. Although he still needs to develop upon his final third play, the winger was one of City’s best players in a poor performance. Likewise, Page also impressed from midfield and almost scored the winner on his debut.

Leicester City Injuries to Consider

As revealed by the Spaniard, injuries are still affecting his squad. Full-back Ricardo Pereira has returned to training, whilst Victor Kristiansen has been out for several weeks due to a training injury. Fatawu returns to the squad for the trip to Deepdale as he missed out in midweek to manage his workload. Meanwhile, Bobby Decordova Reid faces more long-term issues as he is yet to feature for any City squad this season.