Southampton will be keen to pick up their first win of the new Premier League season this weekend when Leicester City come to St Mary’s.
The Saints have overseen a stuttering start to the campaign, with a draw against Burnley and a recent defeat to Everton to show for their efforts. Leicester, meanwhile, were defeated by Manchester United on the opening day but beat Wolves 2-0 at home on Saturday.
It’s likely to be an interesting tactical battle between two sides who haven’t really got going yet this season. Claude Puel’s men will fancy their chances when they come down south but Mark Hughes and his side will appreciate the importance of getting their first win on the board.
Southampton started with a flexible 541/532 shape against Burnley on the opening day before reverting to a 442 against Everton. Both systems proved to be generally ineffective, so it’s unclear how Hughes will set his side out. A back four system could be selected with the likely return of star centre-back Jannik Vestergaard.
With Stuart Armstrong back, though, it’s likely that the Scotsman will return to the starting line-up. Following ineffective displays from Charlie Austin, it’d come as no surprise to see Hughes draft the midfielder in to provide additional creativity to supply Danny Ings.
Leicester, meanwhile, have generally utilised a 4231 setup. However, for large periods of the second half against Wolves, Puel opted to deploy a back five system in order to stymie the attacking threat of Nuno Espirito Santo’s men. This worked well, with the Foxes securing a clean sheet and a victory despite an onslaught of pressure from the visitors.
This tactical change was one that has been scarcely seen during Puel’s tenure in management but it worked, allowing Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira to advance further forward following the introduction and integration of Daniel Amartey into the back three.
Summer signing Ricardo is an important player for Leicester. He joined from Porto for a big fee but has already added a significant attacking edge to his new side and has provided a strong outlet on the right wing. Often, Ricardo has been seen to exceed the position of the wide midfielder on the flank, leading to a positional alternation between Marc Albrighton or Rachid Ghezzal and the right-back.
Ricardo played a similar role for OGC Nice under Claude Puel during his time at the club and has continued to demonstrate his ability in advanced areas, with dangerous crosses and strong contribution to link-up play already on show in the opening weekends of the season.
However, given Ricardo’s tendencies to surge forward and contribute to attacking build-up, space on the right-hand side has been left exposed. Wolves’ wingers Helder Costa and Diogo Jota were dangerous on the break in the first half of last weekend’s game due to having plenty of space to work in, which could bode well for Saints’ wide players and particularly, if fit, Mohamed Elyounoussi – a player who thrives from running into space and bringing the ball forward from deep areas.
Conversely, however, Ricardo’s desire to support Leicester’s attacking sequences could mean that the Foxes will attempt to create overloads in wide areas. Albrighton and Ricardo are likely to be the chosen combination on the right and as a consequence of this, Elyounoussi or Redmond could find themselves pinned back given the necessity to support Ryan Bertrand in defensive phases.
Claude Puel does, of course, favour a style that revolves strictly around possession football and the dominance of the ball. At Leicester, his side have often made use of concise passes across shorter distances, with wide players – often full-backs – free as the spare men in advanced roles.
Against Manchester United recently, this was prominent. Juan Mata struggled to adhere to his defensive responsibilities, ergo leaving Matteo Darmian with a 1v2 situation on several occasions. This was caused by Chilwell and Demarai Gray pushing forward and remaining close to each other, creating overloads on the wing.
It’ll be crucial for the likes of Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse and Elyounoussi to not only look to expose the space in behind their opposing full-backs but to also track their runs and ensure that numerical superiority is not achieved by the Foxes.
One player in particular who has emerged as a key man for Leicester already is James Maddison. Puel utilises the England U21 star as the creative fulcrum of his side, instructing him to collect the ball in deep areas to aid link-up play between the midfield and the attack. Occasionally, Maddison will drop into the double pivot to provide another passing option for the two holding midfielders, while also being gifted on the half-turn, enabling him to quickly turn defence into attack. He is an important player for Leicester on and off the ball.
Mark Hughes has tended to play with two holding midfielders in pre-season and in the opening two fixtures, regardless of whether five or four defenders have been deployed, and this is something that Maddison will have an eye on.
Maddison’s creative capabilities are likely to cause issues for Southampton. He can penetrate deep defensive blocks through his intelligent pass selection and also his ability to score goals from distance. He is also clever at finding pockets of space between the lines, indicating that the likes of Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina will need to be far more positionally disciplined if they are to stymie Maddison’s attacking threat.
Despite the impetus Claude Puel places on possession football, several of Leicester’s phases of play result in crosses into the box. They have talented crossers of the ball, such as Albrighton and Ricardo, and like to put their strikers’ good movement to effective use. This could, though, play into Saints’ hands, given Vestergaard’s tremendous aerial ability and Leicester’s shortage of a physically imposing front-man. At set-pieces, however, they have players who can harm the opposition, such as England international Harry Maguire.
Leicester have a pool of impressive options in the centre of midfield but following his impressive display against Wolves last weekend, Nampalys Mendy looks set to be given another chance to shine alongside the impressive Wilfred Ndidi. The pair possesses a balance of energy and technical quality, with Leicester managing Wolves’ midfield reasonably well on Saturday.
The duo of Lemina and Romeu looks set to continue against Leicester but perhaps Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg would be a more intelligent inclusion from Hughes, given his spatial awareness and ability to play penetrative passes to break midfield lines. He is also a player who can deal with the oppositions’ press, using his body to shield the ball and calm the play down if necessary.
There are similarities in the way that both sides have started the season. Neither Saints nor Leicester have created many genuine openings in front of goal in their respective games so far and a clinical edge is lacking. Leicester managed just four shots on target against United and only two against Wolves. Saints have been similarly misfiring, taking 33 shots in two games and finding the net only once.
It’s set to be an interesting encounter between two sides who appear to have started their opening fixtures in a rather lethargic fashion before growing into games. Leicester are likely to be keen on controlling the possession in the match and using the flanks to cut Hughes’ men open, while Saints will hope to take advantage of gaps in the wide areas on the break.
