Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca spoke to the press ahead of Friday evening’s clash with Leeds United, claiming the fixture is just another game for the Foxes.
The Spanish boss has led a successful campaign in his first role as head coach with the Championship leaders up to this point of the season. Daniel Farke has been a serial winner in the Championship in previous posts. However, Maresca is the one who finds himself in the position the German is accustomed to, holding a nine-point lead over the Yorkshire club, who sit in second.
Maresca’s comments in his latest conference applied pressure on Daniel Farke’s Leeds side ahead of their fixture this Friday, saying this game means everything to Leeds, while if Leicester do not win this one, they will win the next game.
“I think it’s an important game, and every time we win a game, we move closer to the target. But if it doesn’t happen, we keep going.”
“It’s a huge game, but for them more because they are nine points behind us.
“If we are nine points behind, yes, it’s the game we have to win.”
Key departures fail to impact both sides.
Both sides have played impressive football in the second tier this campaign, impressive when taking into account the players both sides lost. The Foxes lost players like James Maddison, who returned to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, while Leeds lost 20 players, loans out and expiring included in that total.
The departure of James Maddison was thought to be hard to replace. However, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been one of the players to stand out and come close to replicating Maddison’s capability for Leicester City. The 25-year-old has 22 goal contributions in 32 games in the Championship this season.
Impressive campaigns.
The pair are chasing an immediate return to the Premier League following relegation last campaign. With their lead at the top, Leicester are in pole position and automatic promotion is all but guaranteed. The advantage they hold over Leeds almost seems insurmountable for Farke’s side, but a win on Friday will only give them hope that they can catch up to the Foxes.
Maresca has insisted that Leeds may not be focused on the Foxes, with newcomers Ipswich Town breathing down their necks, behind them on goal difference. The Tractor Boys returned to the Championship after a dominant season in League One and were a force to be reckoned with in the first half of this season. A dip in form for Ipswich allowed both Leeds and Southampton to catch up to McKenna’s side.
Can Leeds handle the pressure?
Press conferences allow managers to do one thing to gain an advantage over their upcoming opponents, playing into the opposition manager’s or player’s minds. It is a tactic we see fail as often as it is successful. Managers such as Jose Mourinho are famous examples of employing these tactics.
The Whites are in fine form, winning eight games consecutively, making this a very risky tactic for Maresca to utilise in an attempt to gain the advantage. Both sides will be using the victory that Leeds picked up at the King Power earlier in the season as motivation to fuel victory in this second meeting between the two.