Hull City must get basics right against resurgent Foxes

While the Hull City faithful came away from this weekend feeling somewhat deflated after a disappointing draw at home against Burnley, Leicester City fans will be filled with renewed optimism after their 3-1 drubbing of Liverpool in the first game of the post-Ranieri era. What, just one week ago, appeared a very winnable fixture for Marco Silva’s men, now looks a much more difficult challenge. However, if the Tigers go back to basics defensively, and learn from Liverpool’s simple errors, there is no reason we cannot come away from the King Power with a highly valuable three points on Saturday afternoon.

It’s strange. During Steve Bruce’s two Premier League campaigns in charge at the KCOM he prided himself on his side’s defensive qualities. Indeed, the major problem in both the 2014/15 Premier League relegation season, as well as, to a lesser extent, last season’s promotion campaign, was a lack of goals, not a leaky defensive backline. Until very recently, this also appeared to the case this season.

However, under the reign of Marco Silva it could be argued our defensive solidity has perhaps softened somewhat as the Portuguese looks to instil his much more expansive and fluid style of football. The introduction of zonal marking from set-pieces has been the biggest indicator of this, and while I am all for Silva continuing to revolutionise the club with his continental style, soft conceded goals such as Burnley’s equalizer last weekend must be cut out, and quickly.

As I have discussed in great detail in recent blogs, City do not score a huge amount of goals. This is not likely to get better with the news that striker Dieumerci Mbokani has been ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury, although perhaps it won’t make a huge lot of difference considering the Congolese international is still to score for the Tigers. However, the point is, with goals at a premium this season, Marco Silva’s men cannot afford to throw away points against teams in-and-around ourselves in the table as a result of poor defending. The static nature of City’s defending for Michael Keane’s equalizer on Saturday was painfully frustrating to watch and was only made worse by the fact the Tigers were on course for a vital three points at home.

After watching Leicester City’s performance against Liverpool on Monday night, the Tigers’ must not fall asleep in the same way this weekend against Jamie Vardy and Co. For me it was clear to see how and why Leicester beat Liverpool. Aside from the shameful up-turn in form the players displayed in the absence of their Championship-winning ex-manager, the Foxes simply returned to their default setting of last season. To a man, they ran themselves into the ground, contesting every 50/50 ball, covering every blade of grass to pester Klopp’s Liverpool side, and playing the long ball over the top of Liverpool’s make-shift backline for Vardy to run-on to.

Quite incredibly, after watching Leicester win the Premier League title last season using exactly the same tactics, Klopp seemed reluctant to change his approach, or push back his incredibly high defensive line. Quite aside from their free-flowing attacking fullbacks Clyne and Milner, Liverpool’s two centre-halves, Matip and Lucas, played right into Leicester’s hands. Constantly being lured into a false sense of security brought on by early dominance of possession, they camped on the halfway line, making any decent ball over the top an instant opportunity for Vardy. Even at 2-0 down Klopp refused to push his defensive line back. This ultimately invited more and more pressure onto his team with every Leicester counterattack, as the Foxes’ third goal illustrated. This is a trap Hull City must avoid this weekend.

If we are to take anything away from the King Power on Saturday, The Tigers must produce a defensive performance on a par with that of our 0-0 draw at Old Trafford last month. I would like to see us go back to basics, let our defensive line of Elmohamady, Dawson/ Ranocchia, Maguire, and Robertson, as well as midfielders Huddlestone and N’Diaye, get behind the ball as much as possible to frustrate the likes of Vardy, Okazaki and Mahrez, and do not allow for space in behind our backline to be created.

I believe frustrating the Foxes in this way and, in a sense, attempting to play them at their own game on the counterattack is our best chance of coming away from the Champions with points on Saturday. Outlets in the form of Grosicki, Hernandez and, if fully fit, Markovic offer pace, flair and finishing ability to City’s potential starting XI, against a shaky-looking partnership of Huth and Morgan at the heart of Leicester’s defence. Despite a change in management and one good result, Leicester have proved they can be got at this season, and I for one am expecting a good-old fashioned relegation battle at the King Power. I am just praying the Tigers come out on top.