Adrian Clarke analyses the tactical approaches of the three promoted clubs and how they will fare in the Premier League this season.
Club analysis - Leicester City
Steve Cooper’s arrival at Leicester will signal the start of a tactical transformation at King Power Stadium.
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Stylistically the 44-year-old has a very different outlook to predecessor Enzo Maresca, who built the Foxes’ promotion around controlled possession football and a high press.
Cooper, who expertly steered Nottingham Forest to the top flight in his previous job, is renowned for producing teams that counter-attack quickly from a well-organised, deep defensive block.
So, Leicester’s players and supporters must ready themselves for a dramatic gear change over the course of pre-season.
Different tactics
Making statistical comparisons between teams who perform in the Premier League and Championship is imperfect, but it is clear from the data below that Cooper and Maresca are poles apart when it comes to their tactical choices.
The Italian, who has since moved to Chelsea, created a Leicester side that passed the ball patiently and with confidence.
Producing sophisticated positional rotations in possession, they were built around exerting control and habitually wearing down opponents with their dominance of the ball.
Cooper v Maresca comparison
| Cooper 22/23 | Maresca 23/24 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | PL rank | Total | Champ rank | |
| 10+ pass sequences | 181 | 20th | 875 | 2nd |
| Build-up attacks | 33 | 18th | 202 | 2nd |
| Passes per defensive action | 16.4 | 20th | 11.1 | 2nd |
| Shot-ending high turnovers | 39 | 17th | 67 | 5th |
Maresca also implemented a strong pressing game, scoring a league-high 12 goals from high turnovers en route to the title in 2023/24.
Cooper does not demand heavy possession from his players, preferring his teams to play on the break.
His Forest team were also the Premier League side least likely to press during his only full top-flight campaign there.
When you compare how Cooper and Maresca earned their respective promotions to the Premier League (below), we can see how the new Leicester manager places less onus on keeping the ball for long periods.
Averaging 238 fewer short passes per 90 minutes at Forest than Maresca did with Leicester, his players will be coached to play in a more direct manner this season.
Cooper v Maresca Championship comparison
| Cooper 21/22 | Maresca 23/24 | |
| Possession | 50% | 62.2% |
| Short passes/90 | 342 | 580 |
With Leicester likely to be considered underdogs in the bulk of their fixtures, Cooper’s methods may prove to be more suitable at Premier League level.
Dominating the ball in Maresca’s preferred mode might have been hard to implement against elite top-flight teams.
Cooper will tinker more than Maresca
One criticism levelled at Maresca by Leicester supporters last season was his fixed approach.
He would not deviate from Plan A, even when the game state was not going their way.
Any tweaks Maresca made were always relatively subtle.
He did alter the structure of his central midfield on occasion, flitting between a 4-3-3 with two No 8s, and a 4-2-3-1 with a No 10 in place, but changes beyond that were minimal.
Formations used by Maresca in 23/24
| Formation | Times used |
|---|---|
| 4-3-3 | 29 |
| 4-2-3-1 | 15 |
| 3-2-4-1 | 1 |
| 3-4-3 | 1 |
Maresca reverted to a back three only twice in 46 matches, but moving forward you can expect Leicester to utilise that shape more often.
Cooper used a back three in 23 of his 55 Premier League matches at Forest, a figure which represents a 41.8 per cent share.
Formations used by Cooper in PL in 22/23 & 23/24
| Formation | Times used | Formation | Times used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-3-3 | 15 | 3-4-3 | 2 |
| 3-4-2-1 | 11 | 3-5-2 | 2 |
| 4-3-2-1 | 6 | 5-4-1 | 2 |
| 4-3-1-2 | 5 | 4-1-4-1 | 1 |
| 3-4-1-2 | 5 | 5-3-2 | 1 |
| 4-2-3-1 | 5 |
Often opting for extra defensive security against the division’s top sides, we may even see Leicester line up with a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 against Tottenham Hotspur on Matchweek 1.
Cooper used a three-man defence in all three matches against Spurs while he was with Forest.
How Leicester could line up in Matchweek 1
The new Plan A
With excellent wide players and a track record of making it his first choice formation, I would expect 4-3-3 to be used most frequently by Cooper.
This will be welcomed by many of the players who performed so well in that system last season.
Within that structure they will be more vertical with their distribution, moving the ball quicker and more progressively upfield.
This should suit flying wingers Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu.
In 2023/24 they were asked to take the ball past defenders from build-up play that saw them encounter lower blocks as a matter of course.
In the months ahead, they may find themselves with more space to run at opposition full-backs in 1v1s.
Cooper will tinker with his tactics on a regular basis, though.
Using 11 shapes in 55 matches at Forest, and no one formation more than 15 times, he is the kind of manager that likes to keep his opposite numbers guessing right up until kick-off.
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