Steve Cooper made a strategic adjustment to Leicester City’s midfield against Aston Villa, opting for a more defensive setup to counter the physical threat posed by their opponents.
This decision also reflected caution over Facundo Buonanotte’s fitness after what Cooper described as a “stuttered” week for the Argentine.
Buonanotte, who eventually came off the bench to score his first goal for City in their 2-1 defeat, had been left out of the starting XI.
Instead, Oliver Skipp was brought into the midfield, while Wilfred Ndidi was pushed into a more advanced role. This configuration gave Leicester’s midfield a more defensive feel, which Cooper later explained was part of the plan to match Villa’s physicality.
Aston Villa, with a robust midfield trio of Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, and Morgan Rogers, supplemented by John McGinn drifting inside, posed a significant challenge.
Cooper was keen for his side to be able to compete physically in the centre of the park, ensuring that Leicester could go toe-to-toe with their opponents.
“Facundo had had a strange week after the Fulham game,” Cooper revealed when discussing his midfield selection.
“He needed managing, with his groin. That kept him out of being available for the League Cup game. It’s been a stuttered week for him.”
The cautious approach was not just about fitness, though. Cooper had also planned to introduce attacking changes as the game progressed, aiming to open up the match once the physical battle in midfield had been settled.
Unfortunately, the plan didn’t fully materialise as Villa had already taken a 2-0 lead by the time Buonanotte, Stephy Mavididi, and Bilal El Khannouss were introduced.
“Looking at what we felt the game might have needed in terms of the physicality that Villa have in the middle, we wanted to go toe-to-toe on that side and then hopefully open up the game as it went on. We conceded a couple of goals, but it didn’t play out that way (that City were beaten physically in midfield),” Cooper said.
Despite the defeat, the impact of the substitutes was immediate. Mavididi made a significant contribution, outpacing Lamare Bogarde to deliver the assist for Buonanotte’s goal.
Leicester also had the luxury of bringing on Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Kasey McAteer, with Odsonne Edouard set to join the squad after the international break. These options underline the depth that Cooper is building within his squad.
“You look at today, it’s not just about the guys who start, it’s about the people you want to bring off the bench,” Cooper added.
“You look at Stephy, he did brilliantly when he came on. He’s been waiting for that. He deserves what he did today.”
Cooper emphasised the importance of having a strong bench, pointing out how crucial it is in modern football to maintain performance levels even when making substitutions.
“That’s what you want. It’s more than a starting team nowadays. You’ve seen the changes that the three teams we’ve played have made and we want to do something similar so we don’t drop our levels when we want to make changes as well,” he concluded.
This flexibility in selection and tactics will be key as Leicester navigates the challenges of the season, with Cooper clearly determined to maximise the potential of his squad.