Here is a brief team guide of the Leicester squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.
Here is a brief club analysis of the Leicester squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use. About the club
In an astonishing story of rags to riches, Leicester won the Premier League in 2015-2016 just 2 years after their promotion from the 2nd tier of English Football.
The club were in the doldrums in 2008 when they were relegated to the 3rd tier of English football. Their climb to being the eventual Premier League champions which took 7 years is the fastest ascension in the entire PL Era.
Now Leicester are considered an established PL side with decent quality in their ranks and constant top half finishes.
The board's expectations
Leicester are not a part of any European competitions this season, so their minimum requirement would be,
- A top half finish, with bonus budgets available if you promise to deliver a top 6 finish (Europa League Qualification)
- Reach the QF of the FA Cup
- Reach the QF of the EFL Cup/Carabao Cup.
There will not be any specific football philosophies required from the manager despite Leicester being a very decent attacking team, but it will be favoured that the team plays entertaining football.
The transfer budget is also substantially high standing at £30m, higher than what other mid-table teams offer, with additional £71k p/w offered as wages for potential signings.
Interestingly is that the board wants for you to make the club become the 'best of the rest', meaning by the time you're in your second season the club must be seen as the best outside of the top six clubs in the league.
The club have very good training facilities and adequate youth facilities. You will definitely have to work on improving the facilities available if you slowly wish to build an empire and attract big names.
Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
The Leicester squad are a blend of young players and seasoned campaigners, your challenge will be to keep a hold of the stars from other big clubs while attracting talent.
There are quite a few tactical setups you could deploy with Leicester, however the most tactic will be fast counter attacks. Leicester rely on quick breaks and burst of pace especially from their frontman Vardy and this could be the most suited tactic.
A 4-1-4-1 is the most ideal formation for Leicester. This is how they line up currently in real life too and will be most suitable for their squad of available players. You could also opt for a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond if you wish to opt for a more compact formation.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-1-4-1 formation is as follows,
- Kasper Schmeichel as a regular keeper.
- Caglar Soyuncu & Johny Evans as centre backs with defend duty, these defenders are relatively weak passers so making them Ball Playing Defenders could result in a lot of lost possession.
- Ben Chilwell & Ricardo Pereira as wing-backs. They are extremely good fullback options with them contributing to a lot of attacks.
- Wilfried Ndidi as the ball winning midfielder, a guardian angel for your defence will help in preventing a lot of attacks.
- Youri Tielemans as a central midfielder and James Maddison as the central attacking midfielder.
- Ayoze Perez as the wide attacking midfielder on the right & Harvey Barnes as the wide attacking midfielder on the left.
- Jamie Vardy as a lone forward in a g Pressing Forward or a Deep Lying forward role
Alternatively, when you change to a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, you can deploy Denis Praet as a central midfielder pairing Tielemans and making Ayoze Perez as the support striker for Vardy.
Key Players
1. James Vardy
Your key man in attack, he has already won the English Player of the year award before and is a natural goalscorer.
2. James Maddison
Maddison is just 22 but is already one of the best attacking midfielders in the league. He is also a set piece master with freekicks and corners always being a threat when he plays.
3. Ben Chilwell & Ricardo Pereira
Some of the best attacking fullbacks in the league.
4. Youri Tielemans
The young Belgian been an FM wonderkid for many seasons and the potential to be one of the world’s best is always there with the young CM.
Weaknesses
- The CB pairing of Soyuncu & Evans are not the greatest, pace is also a concern for them so if Leicester are hit on the break it could spell trouble.
- The overall squad depth outside the first team is pretty mediocre so injuries to key players will result in a serious drop of quality.
- This is overall a very young squad and could take a few seasons for the youngsters to hit their prime.
- Bigger clubs could always poach your stars as the allure of playing for a bigger club will always be tempting.
Youngsters to keep an eye on
There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,
- Hamza Choudhary (CDM)
- Kelechi Iheanacho (ST)
- James Justin (CB, LB)
FM20 Leicester City summary
To Summarise, Leicester are a decent side for most FM managers, they are a stable mid-table side who could look at bigger things under an exciting manager. Are you up for the Leicester challenge? Can you replicate what Ranieri did for the blues?
