LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Oliver Skipp of Leicester City, Ricardo Pereira of Leicester City and Danny Ward of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Fulham and Leicester City at Craven Cottage on August 24, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Three Leicester City players Steve Cooper would miss against Crystal Palace after impressing in Aston Villa loss
The wait goes on for Leicester City to secure their first league win of the season after falling to defeat against Aston Villa.
Leicester City returned to Premier League action at the King Power Stadium as they looked to recover from a 2-1 defeat to Fulham and get their first league win.
Oliver Skipp and Jordan Ayew were handed their first league starts, while Bilal El Khannouss was named among the substitutes.
There was no place for deadline day loan signing Odsonne Edouard after he wasn’t registered in time to play.
The Foxes looked the brighter of the two sides in the opening half-hour but were done by a clever Villa free-kick which resulted in Amadou Onana poking the ball past Mads Hermansen.
Villa then doubled their lead through a John Duran header before substitute Facundo Buonanotte reduced the deficit with a close-range strike.
Jamie Vardy thought he had won a penalty in stoppage time only to be flagged for offside as the game ended 2-1 to the west Midlanders.
Although Leicester’s performance was strong, some players failed to stamp their mark on the game, whereas others who were introduced staked their claim for a starting XI spot against Crystal Palace.
With that, we look at three players that Steve Cooper should be starting for the trip to Selhurst Park.
This season has seen Stephy Mavididi reduced to a bit-part role so far.
Following his goalscoring exploits in the Championship-winning campaign last season, the likes of Bobby De-Cordova Reid and Ayew have been preferred on the left side of the forward line.
Mavididi impressed in both of his previous sub appearances and scored in the Carabao Cup against Tranmere, but it was his performance against Villa that caught the eye.
His first thought was to take on the full-back, using his burst of acceleration and tricky footwork to get to the byline.
It was his floated ball into the box that caused all sorts of problems amongst the Villa defence, allowing Buonanotte to thunder the ball home.
Although difficult, Leicester’s trip to Palace is a winnable one and Mavididi has done enough to warrant a place in the starting XI.
Usually one of the first names on the teamsheet at the King Power Stadium, it’s been strange not to see Ricardo Pereira on the pitch.
James Justin has been entrusted with the right-back slot after holding his own on the opening day against Tottenham Hotspur.
Fulham and Villa have proved to be more difficult propositions for the former Luton Town man. He was at fault for both goals in the defeat at Craven Cottage.
Cooper likes one of his full-backs to be more forward-thinking, in this case, it’s Victor Kristiansen, with the other playing a more conservative role.
Pereira’s best attributes are when he is attacking but he is also well-versed in the defensive department and Cooper would do himself no harm by bringing the Portugal international into the XI for the trip to south London.
