Tilting Leicester fortunate to only face Legia
Leicester City are currently a shadow of the side that came so close for two seasons running to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, and they are lucky that they are facing Legia Warszawa at this current juncture on Thursday night at the King Power Stadium in the penultimate Europa League group game. The visitors have lost eight out of their last nine in all competitions, and are the ideal opposition for Brendan Rodgers' side to regain a semblance of confidence. Read our preview here:
Cast your net wide
The Foxes were not expected to beat Premier League leaders Chelsea at the weekend, especially given the gulf between the two sides currently, but they were utterly insipid from back to front, and the three-goal margin of defeat flattered the hosts. Far more is required from the experienced contingent in defence, and they simply have to step up to extend their presence in continental competition. Belgian wing-back Timothy Castagne could be key to their fortunes as Rodgers is set to shuffle the deck to find individuals to silence the groans in the stands. Adept at shuttling down the flank, he is likely to come up against only a single direct opponent in Legia's 3-5-1-1 shape, and his low crosses are ideal for a frontline probably consisting of Ayoze Pérez and Patson Daka, the latter of whom has looked most at ease under the lights.
Naw on this
After triumphing in his first game in charge in the Polish Cup, it's been all downhill since for new manager Marek Gołębiewski. The 41 year old took charge a month ago, but has been unable to arrest the slide. Incredibly, last season's Ekstraklasa champions now sit 17th and in the relegation zone, already 23 points behind top after only 15 games. Like their English adversaries, Europe has been a relative area of solace this term - they narrowly lost out to Dinamo Zagreb in elite qualification, and actually sit above the hosts in the group, despite being smashed 4-1 at the Stadion Wojska Polskiego last time out. They will look to hit Leicester on the break, and the wider centre backs like Maik Nawrocki will need to play quick balls forward to beat the press. The youngster's performances have been a crumb of comfort in an otherwise nightmare campaign, and they will be heavily reliant in open play on sole striker Mahir Emreli - the Azerbajani international has two to his name, and adding to that on Thursday will seriously cripple the East Midlands outfit's hopes of progression.
A timely Legia up
Contests between two sides down on their luck can often be the most fascinating, even if not always the most edifying from a defensive point of view. Neither side is doing enough in the two thirds of the pitch that matter the most from a results perspective, but there's little doubt that on paper, Leicester have the superior quality. bet365 have them at odds of 2.88 to win with both teams scoring.
