Leicester City will aim to get back to winning ways this weekend in an FA Cup clash against Championship side QPR at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes have lost five consecutive Premier League matches and currently sit 19th. While a victory against Queens Park Rangers will not help their league standings directly, the morale boost it could give will play a part when they face Crystal Palace a week later.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy will likely use the fixture to rest some key players following a busy festive season. The Dutchman may also experiment with his defensive tactics to make Leicester tighter at the back in the Premier League. Playing Hamza Choudhury as a right back is a possibility, given James Justin’s underperformance this season.
It isn’t a fun time to be a Foxes fan, but a good cup run could give fans something to cheer for and give the squad some much-needed morale.
Leicester City vs QPR – Match Details
Date: January 11, 2024.
Time: 14:00 GMT
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester City vs Queens Park Rangers – Team News
Ricardo Pereira, Mads Hermansen, Jannik Vestergaard, Wilfred Ndidi and Abdul Fatawu are all sidelined due to injuries and will miss the match. Kasey McAteer is set to be available for selection.
For the visitors, Karamoko Dembélé, Jake Clarke-Salter, Ilias Chair, and Zan Celar are expected to miss the match.
Leicester City vs QPR – Match Preview
Despite five consecutive defeats, Leicester have not been too bad. Tactically, they have looked good but have been massively let down by individual mistakes. If Van Nistelrooy can reduce errors, the Foxes could turn things around in the second half of the season.
That is why this is an important match for Leicester. The defence has obvious problems that the Dutchman has to fix, and the cup tie provides a platform for him to experiment. Choudhury acted as Pereira’s deputy at right-back last season and could be given a run of games in an attempt to shore up the backline. While the academy graduate is not very good in possession, Van Nistelrooy will likely look past that if Choudhury is defensively solid.
Despite sitting in 13th place in the Championship, QPR won’t be easy to beat. After almost spending two months in the league’s bottom four, the Rangers have turned things around. They have lost just one of their past eight league games, winning five and drawing two. Marti Cifuentes’ side could push for a play-off finish if QPR keeps up this form.
Leicester also lost against QPR the last time they hosted the London-based side. Despite dominating the game, the Rangers battled hard to a 2-1 away victory at the King Power Stadium. They will aim for a similar upset this weekend, focusing on defensive solidity and hitting Leicester on the break.
While it won’t be an easy game, the Foxes have strengthened over the summer and enter the game as the obvious favourites. A win is vital for the team to get some much-needed confidence, and Van Nistelrooy will not take this fixture lightly.
Leicester City vs QPR – Predicted Starting Lineups
Leicester City predicted lineup vs QPR: Danny Ward, Hamza Choudhury, Caleb Okoli, Wout Faes, Luke Thomas; Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp, WIll Alves; Facundo Buonanotte, Patson Daka, Bobby Decordova-Reid.
