By Tom Coates
Saturday afternoon sees Hull City take on former Premier League champions and inaugural Corendon Cup winners, Leicester City.
The Tigers come into this game following a draw at home to Bristol City and will be looking to go into the international break with another win under their belt. Unfortunately for Liam Rosenior's men, standing in their way is the only EFL side left with a one hundred percent record.
On paper, the Foxes have started the season as many predicted, winning all of their opening games and sitting comfortably at the top of the table. What nobody foresaw was the narrow margins of these victories, requiring late interventions in all of their matches to see them over the line.
Last weekend's victory against Rotherham United was no exception, requiring an 84th minute strike to secure all three points for the away side. The hosts have also only managed one clean sheet in their opening four fixtures, making this an interesting affair against a Hull side averaging two goals per game.
Of all of the relegated sides, Leicester have arguably had the largest overhaul. Whilst Leeds and Southampton have opted for proven EFL coaches, The Foxes have taken a chance on Enzo Maresca, a former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City whose only previous coaching role was a six month spell in charge of Serie B side Parma.
Maresca has conceded that his side are far from the finished product, stating that there is still “many, many, many things to do“ and Leicester are “just 10% or 20%“ of the way to becoming fully embedded within his system.“
Giving more insight into his style of play, the Italian told The Leicester Mercury:
“It can be a 3-2-4-1, 3-2-5, 3-2-2-3, depends, doesn't matter. It's a system that, in this moment, we've found a balance. It's giving us not only results, but in the way we want to play, it's giving us balance. This is why we're adopting this system.“
“(The idea) is to have an extra man inside (the midfield) ... It's just to have more bodies inside to create an extra man and to have control of the game. The final target is to arrive in the final third, create chances and score goals.“
This style of play has seen previously quiet players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall come to life. The Englishman scored twice in the opening day victory over Coventry and has superbly answered the question of who would carry the creative load in the absence of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.
Youngster Kacey McAteer, who bagged a brace of his own last week against Rotherham, has also filled the void left by the departing attacking talents. Alongside summer arrival, Stephy Mavididi, Leicester's wingers have excelled so far this season and will look to cause problems for the away side.
This emphasis upon overloading the attacking third will offer a different kind of scenario for Liam Rosenior, whose Hull City side have enjoyed the vast majority of the ball in their previous outings.
Across the EFL, Leicester are one of just two teams to have completed more passes than The Tigers in the opening four games and will look to dominate possession on Saturday. Having less of the ball will force Rosenior to adapt his style, potentially looking to play on the break and progress play quicker in their own half, a departure from the slow build up seen in previous fixtures.
As if overcoming the best side in the league wasn't enough, Hull will now have to do it without their star player. Speaking in Thursday's press conference, Liam Rosenior told reporters of an injury to Turkish international, Ozan Tufan.
“Ozan (Tufan) has an issue with his thigh. We're just checking that over with him which is a big blow. I'm going to make a decision on his availability tomorrow when we get all of the reports back.”
Whilst a brief cameo from the 28-year-old cannot be ruled out, his exclusion from the starting eleven will be a real loss for the away side. Scoring four goals already this season, Tufan's success has been propelled Hull to just outside of the play-off places.
In his absence, Liam Rosenior has two options: either opt for a direct replacement for Tufan in either Adama Traore or Scott Twine or start two strikers, bringing one of Aaron Connolly or Oscar Estupinan into the first team for the first time this season.
As if the Hull boss wasn't already spoilt for choice in attack, if reports are to be believed, deadline day will be particularly busy for those at the club, with a number of deals still to be ironed out.
A signing that has been in the works for a while now has been the signing of Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa. Rumours of a £5million fee suggests the faith the club have in the youngster and if the deal is to get over the line before Saturday, his inclusion cannot be ruled out. His Villa compatriot, Kienan Davies, had also agreed terms with Hull but rejected a move to East Yorkshire and now looks set to sign for Serie A side Udinese.
As is traditional with sides relegated from the Premier League, Leicester have also been active in the transfer market with fullbacks, Timothy Castagne and Luke Thomas both agreeing deals to return to the Premier League; joining Fulham and Sheffield United respectively.
Friday night also appears to be a busy one for the hosts with attacking duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka both reported to be making moves back to the top flight, leaving The Foxes with a large hole to fill in their forward line. In regard to new signings, Yunus Akgün, who joined The Foxes on loan from Galatasaray, made his Leicester debut in the cup win over Tranmere Rovers and may be in-line for his first league appearance against Hull.
Whilst the host's victory on Tuesday saw them progress in the Carabao Cup, Hull's loss to Doncaster in the previous round afforded them an important mid-week rest. The additional time for pre-match preparations may give The Tigers a slight advantage at the weekend however, Leicester's squad depth may mitigate any benefit for the away side.
Providing that transfer rumours are to be believed and there are no late surprises, these are the likely starting elevens for each side.
Leicester City: Hermansen (GK); Doyle, Vestergaard, Faes, Pereira; Winks, Dewsbury-Hall, Casadei; Mavididi, Vardy, McAteer.
Hull City: Ingram (GK); Greaves, McLoughlin, Jones, Coyle; Seri, Slater, Vaughan, Traore; Twine, Delap.
A ground Hull haven't visited since the Premier League days, Saturday's game will be a great opportunity for Liam Rosenior's side to test themselves against one of the best teams in the division and should make for an exciting spectacle for the around 1800 travelling fans.
