How Leicester could line up against Man City in first game under Dean Smith

Pepe Reina was closer to the halfway line than his goal when Harvey Barnes rolled in the first of Leicester's four goals against Aston Villa in March 2020.

A convincing victory left the Foxes third and Villa mired in the relegation zone after the final Premier League fixture before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of England's top flight - and everything else.

Dean Smith, glumly watching on from the opposite dugout at the King Power Stadium, would later describe that galling defeat as a "watershed moment". Villa returned to club football reinvigorated in June, hauling themselves to safety with eight points from their final four matches.

Three years on, Leicester are in need of a similar turnaround, finding themselves second-bottom and without a manager after the dismissal of Brendan Rodgers. Smith is now tasked with pulling off another great escape after taking over as interim manager until the end of the season.

Smith is inheriting a side that sits firmly at the foot of the form table, losing seven of their last eight league matches. A trip to the home of reigning champions Manchester City on Saturday awaits Smith if he takes over this week.

Here's how the former Brentford, Villa and Norwich City boss may line up for a daunting debut fixture.

Goalkeeper headache

Leicester's sluggish summer transfer window set the tone for a dreary season. The failure to replace the long-serving Kasper Schmeichel has not helped a side that has conceded 52 goals this season - a tally only three other clubs can exceed.

Schmeichel's number two Danny Ward was promoted at the start of the season but was dropped in a desperate attempt to steady a sinking ship by Rodgers in March. 25-year-old Daniel Iversen has patrolled the posts in the last four matches, failing to keep a single clean sheet.

Smith has a keen appreciation for statistics after nearly three years at Brentford and may stick with Iversen, who comes out on top in a comparison of shot-stopping metrics - although, the Dane is less comfortable sweeping behind an advanced backline (but not to the calamitous standards of Reina).

Decision to make: Ward or Iversen

Rearguard action

Smith has faced Pep Guardiola's City on six occasions over the years, including the 2020 Carabao Cup final, losing each and every one. The heaviest defeat in this sequence was a 6-1 mauling at Villa Park when Smith unusually opted for a reactive back-five system. "We gave them too much respect," Smith recognised at full time.

However, Smith may be best advised to redeploy a well-stocked defence to hamper their rampant hosts. City's ebullient form has largely come against teams that have offered space for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland to sprint into.

When City travelled to the King Power Stadium in October, the reigning champions won 1-0 but had fewer shots than their hosts. Rodgers set his side up in a suffocatingly compact 5-4-1, limiting any space between the lines and striking on the counter. It took a sensational free kick from De Bruyne to break a stubborn resolve which Smith may try to replicate.

Potential backline: Castagne - Amartey - Souttar - Faes - Kristiansen

Two strikers

Leicester's leading scorer this season is Smith's former tormentor, Barnes. The fleet-footed, touchline-hugging winger has cracked double digits in the top flight for the first time but limped off against Bournemouth with a hamstring issue that may sideline him this weekend.

In the absence of the wide man, Smith may be tempted to deploy two strikers. With James Maddison in place to supply the front line, it would be up to the fullbacks to provide the width.

Smith experimented with this approach - which has largely fallen out of favour in modern football - when he signed Danny Ings to play alongside Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa. Smith was sacked before cracking the code and Watkins has flourished since Ings' January departure but Leicester have a stable of options that can play in tandem.

Both Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka scored in the only Premier League game in which Leicester started with two up front this season. The Foxes did ship five against Brighton that day but were level at half time before Rodgers began tinkering.

Jamie Vardy is another option through the middle. The veteran pest has scored just once all season but has been a regular thorn in City's side over the years, rifling nine goals past Guardiola's team including a hat-trick on his last appearance at the Etihad Stadium.

Potential variations: Vardy - Iheanacho, Vardy - Daka, Daka - Iheanacho

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