Premier League 2019/20: Leicester vs Wolves

The Premier League is back. After the long summer break, the new 2019/2020 season started last weekend. With the VAR as the protagonist of this new season, Manchester City and Liverpool are again the favourites to win the title. But not everything is about getting to the top, as there will be 20 teams fighting for something, either the title, European cup places or relegation.

The first round brought a game that was anticipated as very interesting, considering their performance last season and the expectations around them for this one. Leicester is starting their first full season under Brendan Rodgers lead after starting as the team’s coach in February of 2019. Expectations are set high for a very experienced manager.

Meanwhile, Wolves have been quite a surprise under Nuno Santos lead. Since taking charge in 2017, he sent the team back to the Premier League after a six-year absence and in their first season back they achieved a surprising seventh place. The team showed an attractive tactical game, being one of the few teams that constantly use a line of three at the back.

Both teams are expected to be at the top half of the table and fighting for a spot at a European Cup. This tactical analysis will go over their first game in this season, that although ended up with a 0-0 score, left some interesting analysis and innovative tactics.

Lineups

Leicester started with a 4-2-3-1 but with attacks that during the first half were concentrated in the middle. Although the team tried to use the wings close to their penalty area, as they moved past the middle of the pitch their wingers were usually cutting inside.

Wolves started with their usual 3-5-2, that sometimes turned into a 5-3-2 when defending. They attacked using both wings during the first half, but they moved to the right flank when attacking during the second half.