Leicester City need James Justin and Wesley Fofana back fit and in their line-up before their defence can reach the “next level”. City have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since the opening day, and failure to keep out Chelsea at the King Power Stadium on Saturday will see them match their longest run without an empty net since returning to the top flight in 2014, a streak of 11 games. Without the pair, manager Brendan Rodgers knows his defence can’t be at its best.
Brendan Rodgers said: “They’re both players who are very athletically strong, they defend forward, they can deny space, they’re aggressive. In JJ’s position, he can get forward and you see how he does that, he’s constantly running, and he’s a great defender in a one-v-one situation. Wesley, for me, will be one of the top centre-halves in the world. He’s 20 years of age but you see the impact he’s made already in the Premier League, and having a player like that really takes your team to the next level. Having those two boys back will be huge for us.”
Thankfully for Rodgers, he has a strikeforce in decent form, and only Manchester City and an Arsenal side including an inspired Aaron Ramsdale have stopped them scoring so far this campaign.
Brendan Rodgers added: “I think everyone wants clean sheets and of course it can make it easier for you when you do so. I just want to see the team defend with aggression and when we do that we’re normally very solid. Sometimes you will concede goals, but then you just have to make sure you’re creating and scoring. If you don’t, you’re in trouble. We want to be hard to beat, and that’s our challenge.”
