'There's Plenty Of Potential' – Leicester's Striking Options For Spartak Moscow

- Leicester City host Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (8pm GMT kick-off)
- Former Foxes captain Matt Elliott has previewed the visit of Rui Vitória's side
- Elliott believes Leicester could stick with Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho up front
- He also assesses the defeat by Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon

Speaking following City's 2-0 Premier League reverse to Arsenal, their first defeat in six games in all competitions, Elliott looked ahead to the visit of Rui Vitória's Russian giants, who Leicester beat 4-3 last month, courtesy of Patson Daka's four-goal heroics. 

The Foxes have utilised both a back four and a back three over recent weeks and Elliott, a former defender himself, believes manager Brendan Rodgers will opt for the latter against Spartak on Thursday.

"I think they'll start with a back three," the League Cup winner said. "They've had a good run with it of late. It didn't work because they couldn't get proper control of the game early on. They weren't at their best early on either, which was a contributory factor. 

"Against Moscow, Leicester should be able to get a bit of a grip in terms of possession in the game. From that, they can build and get those wing-backs forward more and be more effective. They were a little hesitant to do so against Arsenal."

Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho started the clash in Russia last month and Elliott wouldn't be surprised to see Rodgers utilise that partnership again – especially considering their effective link-up in Moscow last time out.

"It'll certainly strike fear into the hearts of the Moscow defenders won't it, a reminder of that duo together," he added. "Neither of them played 90 minutes against Arsenal, Jamie Vardy did, so you would imagine that will be the case.

"I think we'll be looking at minimal changes, although there will be a handful. There will be a sprinkling, I'm sure, but nothing too drastic. They don't want to undo the good work that was done in Moscow here in Leicester by not following through on the back of that result.

"Daka and Iheanacho, I don't think too many people would be unhappy with that strike force. There's plenty of potential there, that's for sure."

Analysing Saturday's loss to Arsenal will be on the agenda for Rodgers now, says Elliott, who believes could have rescued something from the clash in different circumstances. 

"Brendan Rodgers will look into it at depth," he explained. "You can't put the first 20 minutes because that's what cost you the game, you need to look at why that occurred. Arsenal looked very impressive, you have to say. The gulf between the two teams is not a great, as that suggested.

"We saw that in the second half. Leicester went at Arsenal. It was a dangerous game, if Leicester deservedly got themselves a goal at some stage, it would have been a real test of Arsenal's mettle. Anything could have happened."