Our team-by-team guide to the new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season continues with this preview of Leicester City.
After narrowly missing out on Champions League football in the 2019/20 campaign, the Foxes finished fifth again last season – one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
That means more Europa League involvement to contend with, a competition in which Leicester reached the round-of-32 stage in 2020/21.
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FORWARD SITUATION
Leicester have already made a key squad addition in the form of striker Patson Daka (£7.5m).
The Zambian’s style of play makes it seem as though he is a long-term replacement for one Jamie Vardy (£10.5m).
“What (Daka) is doing, everyone is seeing he’s scoring for fun. His biggest strength is his pace. He uses it very well. We are seeing him develop into a good striker, with the strength, pace, and a great conversion rate.” – Zambia international Larry Bwalya
However, few will be expecting the 34-year-old Vardy to suddenly fade out of the Leicester picture despite his age.
That means a likely scenario of Vardy, Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho (£7.5m) battling it out for two striker spots – if Rodgers retains a wing-back system.
Iheanacho produced wonders in the second half of last season, scoring 12 goals and logging two assists from the beginning of February.
Above: FPL assets sorted by goals scored per 90 minutes in 2020/21
The Nigeria striker was actually the top FPL forward for rate of goalscoring, averaging 0.70 goals for every 90 minutes played.
Vardy, meanwhile, registered more big chances than any other Fantasy asset last season (34). Ten of those opportunities arrived from Gameweek 26 onwards, which was the point at which Iheanacho started his run in the side – so any suggestions that the long-serving forward’s goal threat was completely diminished are a little wide of the mark.
Nevertheless, there was a modest drop-off in the veteran striker’s goal threat numbers – and a rise in creativity – after he progressed from lone spearhead to one half of a front two.
