Extra-Time Talking Points: City's Away Record & A Job To Do In Braga
- LCFC Radio's Extra-Time show reflected on Leicester City's defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday
- Tony Cottee and Matt Elliott also looked ahead to Thursday's UEFA Europa League visit to SC Braga
- The two former Foxes stars believe City should be encouraged by their start to the 2020/21 season
- They also highlighted the importance of securing a positive result in Braga on Thursday evening
City are currently fourth in the Premier League and top of their group in the Europa League after an encouraging start on both fronts, but they were left frustrated at Anfield on Sunday.
However, Cottee and Elliott believe that result shouldn't dampen spirits among the Foxes camp, who have won nine of their 13 competitive fixtures this season.
Leicester's approach
Matt Elliott said: “They’ll probably stick with that approach for the foreseeable future away from home. The performance at Liverpool was below bar, but I thought that was magnified by the quality of Liverpool. They make you look back and then they have the quality to compound that with their multiple abilities. Leicester have had success away from home. At home, it might be a different approach, but they’ve got some decent wins by showing initiative.”
An admirable away record
Tony Cottee said: “When you talk about those away games, Leicester have got 12 points out of 15. It’s an incredible achievement in itself because they were all tough places to go to. I know football’s different this season without the fans, but they’re all tough places to go to. The away performances. If Brendan sits down, he’d be disappointed with the result (vs. Liverpool), but if he really analyses where we are, he’d be really pleased.”
Tight at the top
Matt Elliott said: “We’re nine games in, which is just short of a quarter of the season, and Leicester are fourth in the league. You’d settle for that in a few months’ time, but as we know, things can change quickly. There are small gaps between those clubs above us and a number of clubs only just below. You need to be wary, but it’ll be interesting to see how Leicester’s approach develops throughout the season.”
If you can't win, draw
Tony Cottee said: “One thing I can pick up on is that there’s been no draws. In football, you always talk about picking up the odd point. You can’t always win a game, but sometimes you can just nick a point here and there and that’s something they’ll be looking to do. Martin O’Neill used to say it all the time. Those extra points can make a massive difference come to end of the season.”
A job to be done
Matt Elliott said: “We’ve seen how well Leicester have played in the opening three games (in the Europa League). They’ve brushed teams aside. That’s not a reason to go there and be casual about things. There’s a job to be done and they need to do it as efficiently as possible. If they can get the result they require, they’d be through, qualification would be done and dusted and then that gives them some scope in the remaining games. It’ll be tough, though.”
Looking for an improvement
Tony Cottee said: “Usually 10 points is the magical points total for qualification. If they win the game, they’ll get to 12 points. I’ll be covering the game with you guys and I’m looking forward to it. I’m expecting a much-improved performance from Leicester and I expect a professional job. I think they’ll try to do exactly what they did in Athens. Hopefully the pitch will be better, but they’ll be looking to put in a good performance and get qualification in the bag.”