Enzo Maresca has predicted ‘danger’ from Sunderland tonight, and has name-checked one player as a threat to Leicester City’s impressive run.
Speaking to LeicestershireLive, the Foxes boss admitted he expects Sunderland to be ‘aggressive’ and ‘dangerous’ on the counter-attack when the two sides meet this evening.
The Black Cats will be looking to return to winning ways after suffering back-to-back defeats to Stoke City and Middlesbrough, either side of the international break.
A trip to the King Power Stadium will be far from easy though, with Leicester winning eleven of their twelve matches so far, while their only defeat came against Hull City last month.
Despite Leicester being clear favourites to claim all three points on home soil, Maresca certainly isn’t underestimating Tony Mowbray‘s side.
Speaking ahead of the match, the former Man City assistant coach said: “They are third in the Championship for possession and at the same time they are very dangerous on the counter-attack. I expect them to be aggressive, but I’m not sure, we’ll see tomorrow.
“For sure, they have very good players, like [Jobe] Bellingham for sure. They have three or four good players.”
Should Enzo Maresca be worried?
Sunderland may be third in the Championship for possession, but that definitely isn’t something they can rely on against Leicester.
It is pretty obvious that the Foxes are going to dominate the ball for 90 minutes, while the Black Cats may have to rely on their ‘dangerous’ counter-attack.
Jobe Bellingham is definitely a very important player and could be key upon his return to the Midlands, however Dan Neil is probably more likely to be the difference if Sunderland are to claim anything tonight.
The 21-year-old missed out on the trip to Stoke due to suspension and his absence was so clear.
Neil has been excellent this season and has shown he is pretty irreplaceable so far.