Leicester City XI v Nottingham Forest predicted as Ace inclusion prompts Steve Cooper reshuffle

Steve Cooper’s Leicester City squad selection has sparked debate every week, but even more attention is being paid to his squad ahead of Friday’s tantalizing clash with Nottingham Forest (8pm kick-off).

   Abdul Fatawu’s sensational performance as a substitute in the win at Southampton put the Ghanaian winger in the spotlight, with Gary Lineker questioning why he was not in the starting line-up.    While the 20-year-old has played in every Premier League game, he has not started since August.

   Calls for Cooper to name the side that led to a 3-2 win on the south coast are likely to fall on deaf ears.    This team, with Fatawu as an advanced right-back, were brave in fielding a host of attacking players and had to beat City 2-0.

   If Fatawu does come into the side, it will be for one of the three players who have operated behind Jamie Vardy.    Bilal El Khannouss is the obvious choice to drop out, but the trio of Fatawu, Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi have yet to be fielded by Cooper as it wouldn’t fit well with his system, with one of the wingers having to deputize as the other number 10.  when City are on the attack.

   And so the inclusion of Fatawu would probably mean Mavididi dropping out of the XI.   Then Jordan Ayew would be favorite to start on the left, so he could join Buonanotte in the middle when City are on the ball and Victor Kristiansen rushes forward from the left.    – back.

   Another big requirement for Cooper is central midfielder.    After dropping Harry Winks against Bournemouth before the international break and opting to stick with Wilfred Ndidi and Oli Skipp in the XI against Southampton, Winks came on as a second-half substitute on the south coast and made a big difference.

   Winks’ display deserves a return to the XI, but he performs better in games where City have more of the ball, with Ndidi and Winks perhaps more effective in games where they spend more time in possession.    That will be at the heart of Cooper’s selection there.

   Other than that, there will be no changes.    The back four will remain the same, with Jamie Vardy captaining the team up front.

   Predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1): Hermansen;    Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen;    Ndidi, Winks;    Fatawu, Buonanotte, Ayew;    Vardy.    Subs: Ward, Iversen, Ricardo, Thomas, Coady, Soumare, Skipp, El Khannouss, Alves, De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi, McAteer, Edouard.