Leicester City vs Wolves: Inside track on Claude Puel's side

To get a better look at the Foxes, we spoke with Rob Hayes, host of the For Fox Sake podcast, and James Sharpe, Leicester City correspondent for the Leicester Mercury.

See what the pair had to say ahead of this weekend's game here.

How has Claude Puel handled his first pre-season in charge at the King Power? There had been plenty of rumours regarding his future last season.

RH: Even after the owners came out and said he was the right man for the job, not many expected Claude Puel to remain in charge after a hit-and-miss start to life at Leicester.

But he's not let that affect him and has gone about his first pre-season in his usual quiet and calm way.

A lot of transfer business was done early and in the right areas, results and performances were pretty solid, and I think he's gone about preparing the squad really well, despite the difficulties presented by the absence of some key international players for the most part.

JS: There had been and, incredibly, there still are.

At the end of last season, City were playing some pretty poor, boring football and the fans had turned. Puel maintained that he just needed time, a pre-season, and a transfer window to get the squad playing ‘his way’ and more comfortable on the ball.

The owners stuck with him, backed him heavily in the transfer window to bring in players to suit his style.

Pre-season was difficult for Puel, who had ten players from the World Cup coming back at different times as well as a bloated squad with plenty of dead wood.

But the first game at Old Trafford showed that, finally, there appears to be a clear new direction of young, attacking players under Puel.

They played well, and then there were still media reports that his job is under threat.

Mahrez is obviously the main player to leave, will they miss him? And how have Leicester gone about replacing him this summer?

RH: Of course we will miss Mahrez; he is one of the most talented footballers ever to pull on a Leicester shirt and the supporters will be forever grateful for his incredible contributions.

However, the time was probably right for him to move on about a year ago, so I'm glad we didn't have another saga during this window!

Fellow Algerian Rachid Gezzal looks to be a like-for-like replacement, but Ricardo Pereira looked handy out wide against Manchester United, and James Maddison is an excellent addition to our front line.

Add in existing players such as Demarai Gray, Fousseni Diabate and Marc Albrighton, and we look to have a good number of options - none quite possess that magic left foot of Mahrez's though.

JS: Yeah, of course they will miss him. Any team would.

Mahrez had the ability to win games on his own, and did so on plenty of occasions.

He is the only player to have reached double figures for both goals and assists in two of the last three Premier League seasons. Hazard did not do it, De Bruyne did not do it. Just Riyad.

Puel has said Mahrez is impossible to replace like-for-like. So he has tried to sign players who he hopes can share the load.

James Maddison is a hugely important signing for Puel in that regard. The most creative player in the Championship last season and, from the first outing at Old Trafford, showed that he looks at home on the Premier League stage.

No.10 is a position that Puel tried everyone bar the kit manager last season but could not find the right player. Maddison looks that.

Rachid Ghezzal, a winger signed from Monaco and who was a youth player at Lyon when Puel was in charge there, will also find it difficult not to be compared to Mahrez: both skilful left-footed right-wingers who play for Algeria.

What have you made of Leicester's aforementioned transfer business?

RH: On the whole I think it was a good window for us.

Some bit-part players were moved on, and we added four new options to our defence, an area which was definitely in need of strengthening.

Jonny Evans is an excellent signing for such a nominal fee, and the two recent arrivals at centre back, Filip Benkovic and Caglar Soyuncu, are both expected to push for starting berths.

I previously mentioned Pereira playing wide on the right, but it seems he's equally comfortable at right back, which will further suit Puel's passing style, as last season's first choice Danny Simpson doesn't really have that in his locker.

Danny Ward is an excellent number two goalkeeper, Ghezzal comes with good pedigree, and Maddison has really impressed me with his quality and positivity so far.

JS: I’ve been impressed by it. In the past few seasons, Leicester’s transfer business has felt like a hap-hazard approach. This time, the signings have filled quite glaring gaps.

Puel wanted an attacking right-back, so they signed Portugal international Ricardo Periera. He needed a No.10, so they signed Maddison. They needed some added youth and experience to an ageing defensive line so snapped up Jonny Evans as well as two highly-rated centre-backs in Filip Benkovic and Caglar Soyuncu.

Goalkeeper Ben Hamer left so they signed Danny Ward as back-up. And they lost one Algeria winger, so signed another in Ghezzal.They all made sense.

Some fans wanted City to sign a more established, high-profile winger to replace Mahrez but Puel said someone of his class would have been out of their reach.

How do you expect Leicester to shape-up against Wolves, will they see Nuno's side as a target giving their promotion last season?

RH: I don't think Leicester can afford to take anyone lightly in the Premier League, but at the same time, we have a squad that should be capable of beating most others, especially at home.

Our form at the King Power is usually excellent, and given that it's the first home game of the season, the players and supporters will be quietly confident.

JS: They will see Wolves as an opportunity to get some points on the board, especially with Puel already under external pressure.

But I think they are aware that Wolves are no cannon-fodder and a dangerous side if you are not on your game – especially with such talent in their ranks.

How did Leicester fare in pre-season? Have they had positive preparations this summer?

RH: It's often tough to gauge the significance of results in pre-season and we started the summer with a number of senior absentees, so our early matches featured a handful of players from the development squad, who are unlikely to feature much for the first team this season.

Despite a couple of uninspiring results, the trip to Austria was good for morale, team building and fitness, but it was certainly helpful to pick up a home draw against Valencia and a victory over Lille in our final two friendlies.

I think the jury is still out on Puel for many City fans, but the mood seems positive after a good pre-season.

JS: As I said, it was tough because of the huge squad where Puel was having to give minutes to lots of players who he knew were unlikely to be at the club come the start of the season while also being without his World Cup stars.

They won a couple, against Notts County and Lille; drew a couple, against Akhisarspor and Valencia; and lost one to Udinese.

We saw the Foxes miss out to Manchester United last week, can we expect many changes from this game in both personnel and style of play?

RH: Claude Puel is unwavering in his desire to play possession-based football, so I think Wolves will spend a fair bit of time without the ball.

There's talk of us playing three at the back at some stage this season, and whilst we certainly have the personnel at centre back and wing back, I don't think we'll see that system employed this early on.

I'd expect the system and style to stay the same, but there could well be two or three changes in personnel from the side that started against United.

I can't see Jamie Vardy being on the bench on Saturday; Kelechi Iheanacho is the man likely to miss out.

The main fan debates after the game at Old Trafford have concerned the defence. Daniel Amartey was unconvincing at right back so Pereira could drop back in to the back four and open up a starting spot for Ghezzal or Diabate.

There is also a growing number of City fans who believe that our loyal leader Wes Morgan is now past his sell-by date.

If Puel agrees, Evans would be the man likely to step in, with the captain's armband going to Kasper Schmeichel.

JS: I think they will look pretty similar to how they did at Old Trafford, just with Pereira dropping into right-back after Daniel Amartey’s horror-show and you will probably see Jamie Vardy start now that he’s back up to full fitness after a late return from the World Cup.

They will hope to play the same way: fast, attacking and allowing their young players like Maddison, Demarai Gray and Ben Chilwell to get Vardy into some scoring positions.

They were unlucky to lose at United, and dominated large parts of the game.

Are there any injury worries at the King Power heading into the game with Wolves?

JS: Not really, it’s more a case of making sure some players are up to speed. Vardy, for example, after his cameo at United. Evans was injured at the end of pre-season so was only on the bench for the first game.

Matty James and Papy Mendy are both injured but would be unlikely to feature even if fit.

What have you made of Wolves from afar? Do you think they have a team capable of cutting it in the Premier League this season?

RH: Wolves look like they have plenty of quality to pose a real threat, particularly if they play with the fearlessness they displayed on the opening weekend.

There is always a worry when a team brings in a number of players from overseas that they will struggle to adapt to the pace and physicality of the English game, but the likes of Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota definitely proved that they could handle it in the Championship.

I think the addition of the vastly experienced Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho are huge signings; the amount of money spent and the calibre of incoming players has sent out a real statement that Wolves are here to stay in the top flight.

JS: I saw them beat Leicester in pre-season last year and, even then, you could see this was a team with too much quality for the Championship.

They went on to prove that and now look a really dangerous outfit. They have players who Leicester faced in the Champions League!

I know there are questions about the Jorge Mendes connection but, that aside, they have a squad filled with real, real quality.

Your match prediction?

RH: Both sides have a lot of attacking quality so I think there will be goals. I back Leicester to pick up their first points of the season and it would be great to see Maddison get on the scoresheet. I'm going for 2-1 to Leicester.

JS: I can see it being a real open, attacking game. I am going for Leicester to win 2-1.

Rob is also part of the team at @AlanMarchSport who provide Audio Descriptive commentary for blind and partially sighted fans at all Leicester City home games. You can tune in to the For Fox Sake podcast here.

Meanwhile, you can follow James on Twitter here.