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Much has been made of Leicester City’s rise under Brendan Rodgers since the former Celtic boss took over at the club in February, and it’s hard to deny that right now, the Foxes are flying as high as they’ve done since their stunning Premier League title win in 2015-16.
While they’re currently 16 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, they still remain in 3rd place in the current Premier League table, and it’s looking more and more likely that they could qualify for next season’s Champions League at worst.
But are Rodgers’ current side really better than the 2015-16 Premier League champions, as some have stated? It’s highly debatable, so here is a comparison between the two squads.
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Goalkeeper: Kasper Schmeichel vs. Kasper Schmeichel
The easiest comparison to make between the sides is between the sticks, as of course, Kasper Schmeichel – who followed in his father’s footsteps by winning the Premier League title in 2015-16 – remains the Foxes’ undisputed #1 goalkeeper.
Schmeichel is currently in the midst of his 9th season at the King Power Stadium, and at 33 years old, it’s likely that he’s in his goalkeeping prime right now. One of the Premier League’s most reliable and consistent shot-stoppers, Schmeichel averaged 0.9 goals conceded per game in Leicester’s title-winning season, essentially the same average as he’s done thus far in 2019-20.
There seems to be no point in looking at Leicester’s backup keepers – Mark Schwarzer and Ben Hamer in 2015-16, Danny Ward and Eldin Jakupovic today – as Schmeichel rarely gets injured. So it’s a wash here, as the Danish international is basically just as good today as he was 4 seasons ago.
Advantage: None
Full-Backs: Christian Fuchs and Danny Simpson vs. Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira
Perhaps the area that Leicester have evolved most in since their shock title victory of 2015-16 has been their use of full-backs. In Claudio Ranieri’s side, Christian Fuchs and Danny Simpson were the most commonly deployed duo, but with the Italian’s use of an almost classic 4-4-2 system, they performed on almost a purely defensive basis rather than as attacking full-backs.
Leicester’s defence was extremely tight in 2015-16, conceding just 36 goals all season, but while Fuchs and Simpson definitely played their part in that tough backline, they barely contributed going forward. Neither man scored a single goal, with Austria’s Fuchs also responsible for 4 assists.
Right now, however, the Foxes also have an extremely tight defence – only Liverpool have conceded less goals than Brendan Rodgers’ men – but full-backs Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira are far more than simply defenders.
They’ve chipped in with 3 goals and 4 assists between them already, and we’re only just past the midway point in the season. Essentially, aside from Liverpool, Leicester’s current full-backs are the envy of every other Premier League side right now, and it’s quite clear that the duo of Chilwell and Pereira are superior to their predecessors at the King Power Stadium.
Advantage: Rodgers’ current crop
Centre Backs: Wes Morgan and Robert Huth vs. Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans
Much was made in the summer about how Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes could struggle in the centre of defence without Harry Maguire, who was sold to Manchester United for a monstrous £80 million, and eyebrows were raised when the club didn’t bother to sign an outright replacement.
Less than a year on though, the move to let the England international leave seems like a smart move. The underrated Jonny Evans has created a formidable partnership with Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu – who was signed in the summer of 2018 but only made a handful of appearances last season – and the duo have helped to give Leicester one of the Premier League’s toughest defences.
However, are the duo of Evans and Soyuncu superior to the title-winning partnership of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth? It remains to be seen. Morgan played every single Premier League match for Claudio Ranieri’s champions, while Huth – who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea – only missed 3 matches.
Morgan and Huth brought a level of experience and calm to the Foxes’ backline that made them incredibly tricky to beat, and while it’s true that they were protected by a world-class holding midfielder in N’Golo Kante, Morgan in particular also chipped in with some key goals, including a vital winner against Southampton.
And while Soyuncu has been largely outstanding thus far in 2019-20, he’s also made a handful of mistakes – conceding 2 penalties and making one individual error to lead to a goal. The Turkish international may well improve going forward – he’s only 23 years old after all – but I think Ranieri’s title winners have a slight edge in this area.
Advantage: Ranieri’s title winners
Wingers: Marc Albrighton and Riyad Mahrez vs. Harvey Barnes, Demarai Gray and Ayoze Perez
Interestingly, neither Claudio Ranieri’s title winners nor Brendan Rodgers’ current side really made use of a pair of traditional wingers. Ranieri tended to use Marc Albrighton on the left and Riyad Mahrez on the right, but neither man performed an orthodox job as such.
Mahrez was the more attacking one of the two; the Algerian international was one of 2015-16’s most outstanding players, as he scored 17 goals and made 11 assists, often playing as a secondary striker behind primary hitman Jamie Vardy.
Albrighton meanwhile had often played as a wing-back for periods of his career and was regularly deployed by Ranieri to drop back and help the side’s defence. That said, he still chipped in with 2 goals and 6 assists in Premier League action.
Brendan Rodgers meanwhile has often preferred a 3-man midfield this season, with his widest players being a combination of Harvey Barnes, Ayoze Perez, Albrighton and Demarai Gray. Barnes and Perez have started the most games – 14 and 16 respectively – but only Barnes has always been deployed as a pure wing-man, with Spain’s Perez often used as a secondary striker similarly to Mahrez in 2015-16.
Thus far, the Foxes’ current widemen have a total of 7 goals and 11 assists between them – but while they’ve been good, none of the four have been anywhere near the level that Mahrez reached during Leicester’s title charge, and thus the edge must go to Ranieri’s side.
Advantage: Ranieri’s title winners
Midfield: N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater vs. Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans
The biggest difference between these two Leicester sides comes perhaps in the way that their midfields are deployed. Interestingly enough, Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes didn’t use what could be described as a traditional playmaker – a #8 or a #10 – instead focusing on a breaker in the form of N’Golo Kante and an underrated, metronomic passer in the form of Danny Drinkwater.
Essentially, Kante would either break up opposition play or intercept the ball before feeding Drinkwater, who would find a quick pass forward to allow Leicester to hit opponents on the break in rapid fashion through Riyad Mahrez or Jamie Vardy.
Both men were fantastic in these roles throughout 2015-16; Drinkwater averaged a high 56.7 passes per game, while Kante averaged a remarkable 4.7 tackles and 4.2 interceptions per game – stats he’s never come close to replicating since.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester meanwhile operate somewhat differently. Wilfred Ndidi plays a similar role to the one filled by Kante in the title-winning side – breaking up opposition play before feeding the ball forward. In fact, his current stats – 4.3 tackles and 2.8 interceptions per game – aren’t too far off those registered by the Frenchman.
However, where the Foxes once looked to catch sides quickly on the break, Rodgers’ other first-choice midfielders – James Maddison and Youri Tielemans – play a far more creative role than anyone did in Ranieri’s team. Both men are capable of both scoring and making goals; Tielemans has 3 goals and 3 assists while Maddison has 6 and 3, and their offensive statistics are both high, with England international Maddison averaging 2.4 key passes per game.
Ranieri’s duo was certainly an effective one, but largely, they only worked the way they did because of the individual brilliance of Kante and the fact that Leicester’s system essentially bypassed a classic midfield. Rodgers’ Leicester meanwhile are much more effective in the centre of the park, and therefore, they get the advantage.
Advantage: Rodgers’ current crop
Forwards: Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa vs. Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho
Jamie Vardy enjoyed a truly fantastic season under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16; he broke the record for goals scored in consecutive games in Premier League action (11), broke into the England squad, and finished the season with a total of 24 league goals.
Vardy was largely supported up front by Japan’s Shinji Okazaki, and while he didn’t score nearly as many goals as his teammate – chipping in with 5 in the Premier League – they were all important strikes and he was certainly a useful foil, linking play and dragging defenders out of position in order for Vardy to find openings. Leonardo Ulloa meanwhile was a solid deputy, chipping in with 6 goals in the league.
If Ranieri’s Foxes were a side practically built to get the best out of Vardy, then despite all their differences, Rodgers’ side at least have this in common. In 2019-20, the former England striker has usually been deployed as a lone wolf up front, supported by either Ayoze Perez or Kelechi Iheanacho.
Where Ranieri’s Leicester looked to break at speed to feed Vardy, Rodgers’ side rely on the creative talents of James Maddison, Perez, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes to provide their striker with chances. And thus far, it’s worked brilliantly; Vardy has scored 17 goals in just 23 appearances, and if he keeps up his form, he should end the season with a better total than he did in the title-winning campaign.
Is the Vardy of 2019-20 better than the Vardy of 2015-16? There’s an argument to be made either way, but the truth is more likely that he’s the same player he always has been – a fantastic finisher from any position who will score plenty of goals if he’s given the chances.
However, it must be noted that Leicester’s current system would probably suit another striker too if Vardy were to be absent – as we saw in December’s win over West Ham, when backup forward Kelechi Iheanacho led the line and scored the Foxes’ first goal.
Essentially then, it’s a tie between the two sides when it comes to their forwards, basically because Vardy is as fantastic today as he was 4 seasons ago.
Advantage: None
In conclusion...
In terms of a straight comparison, we’ve got two victories for Ranieri’s title winners and two for Rodgers’ current crop, with two areas being equal as both sides basically deploy the same players. So does that mean the two sides are essentially equal, too? Well, perhaps.
Ranieri’s Foxes had the more outstanding individual players – Mahrez, Kante, Vardy – and arguably a tougher spine in the form of Morgan, Huth and Drinkwater, whereas Rodgers’ side are arguably easier on the eye due to the creative talents of Maddison and Tielemans, and the swashbuckling style of Pereira and Chilwell at full-back.
The main difference between the teams, however, is in the strength of the opposition against them in the Premier League. Ranieri’s title winners won the Premier League title in a season in which Manchester City struggled for consistency under outgoing boss Manuel Pellegrini, Liverpool and Chelsea were largely in disarray, and the Foxes’ nearest challengers – for the majority of the season – were an inexperienced Tottenham side who eventually fell apart at the last hurdle.
Rodgers’ Leicester meanwhile are up against two of the greatest Premier League sides ever in the form of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. To even be keeping pace near them at the top of the table is a massive achievement in itself.
