Steve Cooper is desperate to secure his first Premier League win as Leicester City manager and will be eyeing Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace as the perfect opportunity to get three points.
Leicester City have earned just one point since returning to the Premier League, with Steve Cooper very aware that his side were lucky to draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the first game of the season.
Leicester have lost both the two league games since then 2-1, with positives to take from the defeat to Aston Villa last time out.
Leicester resume Premier League action with a trip to Selhurst Park to face a Crystal Palace side who also have just one point and Cooper could unleash two of his summer signings against the Eagles.
Steve Cooper must start Bilal El Khannous and Facundo Buonanotte for Leicester City vs Crystal Palace
Cooper set up his Leicester side a little too defensively against Villa, with a midfield trio of Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp and Wilfred Ndidi particularly uninspiring.
Foxes fans will hope Cooper has learned his lesson from that game, with Leicester immediately looking far better with the introduction of attacking midfield duo Facundo Buonanotte and Bilal El Khannous.
Buonanotte has impressed since joining Leicester on loan from Brighton and scored the goal that got Cooper’s side back in the game against Villa, whilst El Khannouss was making his debut after a £21 million move.
Both Buonanotte and El Khannouss are exciting players who can play either as an advanced midfielder or wide and Cooper must find a way to accommodate both in the same starting XI to significantly boost Leicester’s chances of beating Palace.
Cooper rates Leicester City loanee Buonanotte highly
Leicester beat the advances of fellow newly-promoted side Southampton to sign Buonanotte and the 19-year-old is fast becoming a fan favourite.
Speaking after the draw with Tottenham in which the Argentine made his debut, Cooper said: “[He is a] talented young guy and happy to give him the opportunity.
“He showed some really good bits tonight but he’s one of them players who isn’t up to speed physically yet and you could see him fading a little bit on the change.
“He’ll benefit from tonight, not just in terms of how he played at his new home for the year, but also getting some well-earned Premier League minutes. Really good.”
With the international break giving Buonanotte the opportunity to recover from the groin strain that saw him start on the bench against Villa, the youngster should be raring to go against Palace and Cooper should place his faith in his flare players to make the difference.