Leicester City centre-back Jannik Vestergaard is walking a tightrope ahead of tonight’s Championship clash against Sheffield Wednesday.
Enzo Maresca has implemented a ferocious, high-pressing style at Leicester and this has contributed to their dominance at the top of the Championship.
The Foxes aim to restrict the space their opponents have in their own half by triggering a press, usually orchestrated by Patson Daka and then followed by the likes of Abdul Fatawu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Stephy Mavididi.
It’s an effective defensive style that sees Maresca operate with a high line so that his defence can get involved with the build-up phase.
As a result, the centre-backs are tasked with winning the ball high up the pitch, so as soon as the opposing forward receives the ball, Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes are snapping at their heels.
Unfortunately, in their attempts to regain possession for their side, they can sometimes overstep the mark and commit a foul instead.
This has seen Vestergaard receive nine yellow cards in 29 Championship appearances, meaning he’s one away from suspension.
Jannik Vestergaard is one yellow card away from suspension
If Vestergaard plays against Sheffield Wednesday tonight, he will once again tread a yellow-card tightrope. Ten yellow cards in the first 37 matches of the campaign is punished with a two-game suspension, and the Dane has so far received nine cautions.
Impressively, those nine yellow cards came in his first 17 matches of the season and he’s since gone 12 games without having his name taken in the book.
Vestergaard missed only his second league match of the season last time out in the 2-1 win over Watford, while the first was through suspension after being carded five times in his first nine matches.
Although having him back in contention is a huge positive for Maresca, the Foxes did cope fine without him at Vicarage Road and can manage in his absence in the future.
Leicester can cope without Vestergaard
Vestergaard is arguably Leicester’s first-choice centre-back, so his importance to the side shouldn’t be understated, especially given what he brings in and out of possession.
However, youngster Ben Nelson stepped up in his place on Saturday and although he isn’t as good as the dominant Dane yet, he certainly has the potential to usurp him in the future.
After all, Leicester fans are clamouring over his qualities as a ball-playing defender while Maresca has already suggested he’s the perfect modern-day centre-back.
The injury to Vestergaard did raise eyebrows over who would replace him, but the performance of Nelson against Watford just shows that he’s ready to fill that void, especially if the 31-year-old receives his tenth yellow of the campaign.