Can Steve Cooper find the right formula for Leicester City?

arnav
By Arnav
4 Min Read

Against Nottingham Forest, Steve Cooper finally gave Leicester City fans the lineup they had been begging for all season. Fan favourites Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira made it into the starting eleven, creating what was easily the most attacking team Cooper has deployed so far. However, despite these changes, the Foxes lost 3-1 at home to East Midlands rivals Nottingham.

Until recently, Cooper had been deploying Facundo Buonanotte on the right wing, with James Justin stationed behind him. Victor Kristiansen was the left back, and due to the manager’s heavy emphasis on off-the-ball movement, Fatawu and Pereira had been kept on the bench.

Following the Ghanaian winger’s game-changing performance against Southampton, calls for Fatawu to start intensified, and the youngster was included in the line-up to face Forest. Leicester’s ongoing defensive issues also led Cooper to make adjustments at the back, shifting Justin to the left and bringing in Pereira for his first appearance of the season.

Leicester City resembled Enzo Maresca’s system

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Pereira and Fatawu’s inclusion brought major tactical changes. Pereira played as an inverted wing-back, as he did last season, moving into midfield to partner with Harry Winks. With the full-backs pushing forward less, the wingers stayed wide rather than cutting inside. The tactical set-up closely resembled the system Leicester used under Enzo Maresca last season. In fact, apart from Caleb Okoli and Facundo Buonanotte, the team mirrored Maresca’s preferred eleven, with players having similar roles.

Leicester showed promise in the first half. Despite falling behind due to an individual error, they looked confident in possession and crafted a wonderful equalising goal. But everything fell apart in the second half. Chris Wood scored twice, capitalising on individual mistakes to lead Forest to a 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium. Leicester seemed like a shadow of the side they were just 45 minutes earlier. Nottingham dominated the second half and could have scored four or even five goals.

What is going wrong for Leicester?

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It’s hard to pinpoint precisely why things keep going wrong. At first, it seemed to be Cooper’s substitutions, but he improved over the following games. Then the team’s line-up and tactics were criticised, prompting Cooper to adjust them to what pundits and fans (myself included) had suggested. Yet, Leicester still lost. Fatawu and Pereira were both poor and did not justify the hype for them to start. While this defeat could be dismissed as an unfortunate result due to glaring individual errors, questions must be asked about the team’s mentality and their tendency to start games slowly.

I personally like Steve Cooper. Although I have criticised him at times, I appreciate his tactical ideas and adaptability. However, if problems persist despite his efforts to make adjustments, the Leicester hierarchy may be forced to sack him. The upcoming league game against Ipswich is crucial for Cooper, and whether he sticks with the same line-up and tactics remains to be seen.

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