Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Leicester will be glad that the Champions League, the sole competition in which they have had any kind of success this season returns in full swing this Evening. The club have perhaps been accused of putting too many eggs in their European basket but will that strategy continue to pay some form of dividend or will it spectacularly backfire.
That is because this is a Leicester side far removed from the heady heights of last season. Just one point in the Premier League since the start of the year and without a single goal to their name since the turn of the year, add the fact that they were dumped out of The F.A. Cup last Saturday by Millwall and the club is in somewhat of a negative spiral.
Perhaps wholesale changes were made by Claudio Ranieri last Saturday with Tonight in mind but with that defeat at The Den it’s the worst possible preperation for their trip to the winners of the last three editions of the Europa League. That of course being none other than Sevilla.
After the departure of Unai Emery to PSG in the Summer, many felt that it would be the end of this particular cycle for the Andalusian club but if anything they have gone from strength to strength under the tutelage of former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli.
The fact that they have relinquished their grip on the Europa League speaks by reaching the knockout stages of this competition speaks volumes and that is before we mention the fact that they sit third in La Liga just two points behind Real Madrid.
They come into this game in ideal preparation after dispoing of Eibar on Saturday night. A win that saw them move to second in La Liga for 24 hours at least before Barcelona retook the position after narrowly edging past Leganes at The Nou Camp.
Although Leicester have saved their best performances for Europe this was pre Christmas when their was not the King Power crisis. Tonight offers up a whole different proposition what with the form that Leicester are in and because of that Sevilla wil fancy their chances of putting themselves in the box seat going into the 2nd leg.
Claudio Ranieri said he needed gladiators after Saturday’s cup defeat, he certainly needs something from his players Tonight. The likes of Vardy, Mahrez and Drinkwater are pale immitations of themselves compared to last season. They don’t perhaps need to stand up and be counted, they need to save it for what is now a relegation battle. But there needs to be a performance.
Not just because of Tonight but a decent result would give them the spark they are so obviously lacking on the domestic front. Should the spring into life this Evening then the hope is that it can then be used as a platform for the final third of the season.
A lot will depend on which Leicester turns up, the fearsome Europe edition or the timid league one. If it is the latter then Sevilla could put the tie out of sight before the return but are Leicester going to once again save their best for the Champions League? Only time will tell.
