Leicester, Leeds and promotion battle shaping into all-time Championship classic
The assignment was clear for both Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca and Leeds United’s Daniel Farke this season: promotion.
The Foxes sit pretty at the top of the table after a record-breaking start of 13 wins in their opening 14 matches - their solitary reverse coming at the hands of Hull. Leeds in the meantime are in third with their stuttering start to the campaign now some way behind them.
The pair, alongside Kieran McKenna’s in-form Ipswich side, look to be the most likely to be challenging for a return to the Premier League. Their impressive runs come after going in slightly different directions with their managerial appointments upon relegation from the top-flight.
Starting with the league leaders, Leicester were rudderless after deciding to do away with the services of Dean Smith. The former Aston Villa and Brentford boss failed to keep the Midlanders in the Premier League.
Names such as Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard were bandied around before they eventually plumped for Pep Guardiola’s former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca. There was understandable apprehension given the Italian’s only prior senior managerial experience saw him sacked by Parma after just 14 games.
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Those fears have very quickly been allayed with Leicester already 14 points clear of their upcoming opponents Leeds. Sticking with the Yorkshire outfit, they went in a slightly different direction in finding a successor for Sam Allardyce.
Two-time Championship winner and the 2020/21 manager of the season Daniel Farke was drafted in on a four-year deal. On paper, there are not many better candidates to attempt to earn Leeds an instant return to the Premier League.
Daniel Farke has won two Championship titles earlier in his career (Getty Images)Who do you think will be promoted to the Premier League this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Despite just two wins from their opening seven league games, Farke’s side have won five out of their last seven and could lay down quite a statement with a victory at the King Power Stadium. While the two sides took a differing approach in the dugout, Friday’s clash in the Midlands also sees a collision of two contrasting styles.
Both sides like to dominate the ball - Leeds’ average possession sitting at 57 percent with Leicester’s at 63 percent - but the latter are far more considered and methodical. Maresca’s side have completed the second-most passes in the league with 8326.
It is an approach that is not too dissimilar to that of Maresca’s tutor Guardiola. It certainly works for Leicester, too. The side have scored 29 times from 25.8 expected goals - both league-high figures - and are on a club-record run of nine consecutive league victories.
Last week’s matchwinner against QPR, Harry Winks, has been pivotal to that style of play, acting as a metronomic figure at the base of Leicester’s midfield. Speaking of the former Tottenham star, Maresca said: “When I met the club for the first time, he was the first name I told them.
“He was the main player because with this idea, Harry is an unbelievable player. I saw him at Spurs, I saw him last year in Italy. With us and with this idea, he’s an unbelievable player.”
While Winks has been among the key performers for Leicester, they also have the individual brilliance of academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to call upon. The midfielder already heads the league for goal contributions (five goals and six assists).
Harry Winks has shone during Leicester's revival under Enzo Maresca (Getty Images)Leeds are some way behind Leicester’s passing figures with 6310 completed passes this term. It is in transition where they are the most dangerous.
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According to Opta, Leeds have already scored six goals from counter-attacks this season. Their recent 4-1 thumping of Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield was Leeds at their best - Crysencio Summerville and Daniel James proving particularly threatening, while Georginio Rutter has started to look worth the £35m fee that Leeds paid for his services.
That is an aspect that Leicester will have to keep a close eye on should they want to extend their growing gap at the top of the table. Maresca is more than aware of Leeds’ main threat.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Italian said: “We know they are good in transition, but they are not only good in transition. Summerville, James, [Wilfried] Gnonto, they are very quick, we need to be careful. More than ever, we need many passes before we attack. If we attack quick, they will attack quick. We don’t want that.”
Ahead of Friday’s tie, the Foxes have conceded just eight league goals this term and Leeds will no doubt give their staunch defence arguably its toughest test of the season so far. It is no surprise then that Farke does not have any intention to change his style.
“Our approach will never be that we just park the bus and put the ball in the stand or over the stand and try to be there with a counter attack from 90 yards or a three times deflected striker, getting lucky off an opponents goalkeeper, no, we want to attack the games and be the protagonist,” he said.
Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter have been key to Leeds' counter-attacking style (Getty Images)“This will always be our approach, we are Leeds United, we want to do this wherever we go and wherever we play.”
With two contrasting styles and two managers still keen to prove their credentials, the match has all the ingredients to be a tantalising showdown. It’s just a matter of who gets the higher marks in Friday’s project in their big promotion assignment.
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