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3 Changes Ranieri Should Do For Leicester City’s Champions League Game Against Copenhagen

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A win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday will take Leicester City a step closer to finishing top of Group G in their debut Champions League campaign.

Despite a poor start to the season in their EPL title defence mission, surprisingly, Leicester have been flying high on the continental level, and 3 points to the 6 on the ground will secure them qualifications for the round of 16.

As the 2nd placed team in the group visits the Kings Power Stadium with the hope of also getting 3 points, what must Ranieri do to ensure victory is secured against the Danish visitors on Tuesday?

Revert to the Champions League starting XI and formation

Coming off the back of a heavy defeat at the hands of Chelsea last weekend, the team’s gaffer will do well to stick to his Champions League winning formula when the Danes visit.

In the league, Leicester have played same starting lineup consecutively just against Burnley and Manchester United. For every other game, the squad has been rotated, and that hasn’t yielded any desired result whatsoever.

However, back to back victories have been recorded in the Champions League with an unchanged starting lineup, and there is no need to tweak or tamper with it.

In the 4-4-2 formation, Schmeichel; Hernandez; Morgan; Huth; Fuchs take their respective positions in goal and defence, while Albrighton; Amartey; Drinkwater; Mahrez man the midfield, with the striking duo of Vardy and Slimani upfront.

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It could be argued that they haven’t come across any European giant and as such, getting wins have come almost easy for them. But since it could work against Porto, the formation and its players can withstand any team in Europe.

Avoid defensive lapses

Leicester City have conceded 14 league goals this season in the league, and none in the Champions League. Copenhagen’s 5 Champions League goals make them a side capable of scoring on a proven level, and they would want to get a goal or lead against Leicester and defend it with their lives.

Considering how woeful and awful the host’s defence has been in recent league games, especially how they make all types of defensive errors and commit blunders at will, Copenhagen’s chances of getting a goal or more are high.

But if the team can get it right at the back and minimize their errors, chances are that they will escape with a win or a draw and edge closer to the round of 16.

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Covert their chances

Key to Leicester City’s success last term was their ability to make the most of the few chances they created. They hardly enjoyed possession, didn’t complete most passes nor created most chances.

Only 386 chances were created last term, and they got 68 goals from them. Chelsea created 403, Tottenham 500 and Arsenal 464. If Leicester can get back to their best when it comes to converting chances, getting the better of Copenhagen is guaranteed.

The visitors will sit back and defend in their numbers. That will make Leicester City limited in getting chances. If they fail to make the most of the few chances they are able to carve out, it could be their undoing.