Steve Cooper will be hoping that Leicester City don’t follow suit against Everton with one unwanted statistic.
Leicester City face a huge clash as they welcome Everton to the King Power Stadium this weekend, one which looks to be a real six-pointer for the Foxes.
Steve Cooper’s side will undoubtedly be fancying their chances against an Everton side that have had such a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign, with them sitting at the foot of the table without any points at this stage.
Performances against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace most recently have shown signs of improvements for Leicester City, but they will need to get three points on the board against Everton in order to really kick start their season.
However, Everton will be looking to exploit one part of Leicester City’s side and continue one unwanted trend that Cooper’s side are currently stuck in.
Leicester City must put an end to unwanted defensive record
It is clear that defensive issues have been Leicester City’s achilles heel at times so far this season, in particular against Crystal Palace as they let a two-goal lead slip in the space of one half of football.
However, the game against Crystal Palace was in fact an outlier on the defensive front for Cooper’s side, who, per The Athletic, have conceded nine of their previous 21 opening goals in the first 20 minutes of a game, and 19 of the first 21 have all come in the first half of football.
It is a clear issue for Cooper’s side when it comes to settling into the game, and they often find themselves on the back front in games.
Leicester City must use Crystal Palace game as a springboard to put defensive record behind them
Whilst in the end Leicester City dropped two points at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace, the Foxes didn’t repeat their issues on the defensive front in the first half, and whilst Everton are a side that often find themselves in front in games, but fall behind late on, Cooper will be aware that Sean Dyche’s side are able to spring a surprise early on.
It will be up to Cooper to ensure that his defensive line up is spot on against Everton, and look to quash any potential threat that may come their way from the away side.
There are no doubts that Cooper has the defensive options available to utilise that can dictate a solid defensive display, it will just be a case of putting that into practice in what truly is a must win game for Leicester City.