Castagne: Southampton’s Strengths & Aggressive Defending

First Team
30 Nov 2021
2 Minutes
Belgium international full-back Timothy Castagne has outlined what Leicester City must do if they are to leave St. Mary’s Stadium with three Premier League points on Wednesday night.

- Leicester City head to Southampton on Wednesday in the Premier League (7:30pm kick-off)
- Timothy Castagne says the Foxes are building confidence after back-to-back victories
- City beat Legia Warsaw and Watford in the space of four days
- Live coverage of the match begins on LCFC Radio from 6pm

The Foxes take on Southampton in the first of nine fixtures in December, but as they have shown over the past week, frequent outings have produced positive results for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Although only two full days elapsed in between their UEFA Europa League clash with Legia Warsaw and Sunday’s Premier League encounter with Watford, the Foxes claimed six points and scored seven goals in the process.

Castagne completed 90 minutes in both matches and was integral in the build-up to Ademola Lookman's effort against the Hornets on Sunday as he went in bravely for a 50-50 challenge with Adam Masina.

He told LCFC TV: “We’re coming back, we’re on an upwards slope now. I think it will be very important for us to get the win, because then we're on three [wins] in a row now if we win, but we’re going to have to bring our ‘A-game’.

“We know Southampton are a good team and going there is never easy, but if we play to our strengths then we can win. [It’ll be] a very tough game – physical.

It's a big difference (the fans). I remember the sound of the half of the crowd at the FA Cup Final when Youri [Tielemans] scored. It was already crazy, but it’s great to have them.

Timothy Castagne LCFC TV

“We know they press hard and they don’t give you a lot of time, so we’re going to have to play quick and be aggressive as well in defence.”

Against Watford, Castagne was pleased to emerge from the fixture with their second win in four days, especially given the wintery conditions that faced the Foxes at King Power Stadium.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “The first half was good, and then we had a little storm in the second half, so it was more difficult. Scoring four goals is very good for us, especially with a bit of time creating chances and scoring.

“It was very good to have that, and coming away with a victory in these conditions is also very nice, so it was important for us.

“It’s tough, because you want to play and you want to try to keep it on the ground, but sometimes you cannot.

“At the end, it was more like playing it long and going into a 50-50 duel, which I think we managed pretty well, these duels.

“You have to recognise that these conditions don’t help you play football. It was [enjoyable], we won – I’ll just say that!”

The Blue Army also braved the weather on Sunday, and Castagne was thrilled that they have been able to witness back-to-back victories on Filbert Way in such a short space of time.

“It’s a big difference,” he said of their attendance. “I remember the sound of the half of the crowd at the FA Cup Final when Youri [Tielemans] scored. It was already crazy, but it’s great to have them.

“It’s too bad we didn’t have a great start, because that would have been even more amazing to welcome them back in the stadium and have a great start of the season, but from now, we can have a great mid-to-end of the season, so hopefully we can do that.”

All times GMT.