Leicester City need to solve worrying problem following Hull City clash: Opinion | OneFootball

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Leicester City can be very pleased with their work so far this term, winning four of their opening five league games.

Some of their early-season fixtures have been difficult, with the Foxes needing a late Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall brace and a bit of luck to secure a victory against Coventry City during the opening day of their campaign.

Since that clash against the Sky Blues, they have overcome Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and Rotherham United, whilst also progressing through to the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Their first real setback of the campaign came last weekend against Hull City, with Enzo Maresca's side falling to a 1-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium against the Tigers.

It could definitely be argued that the Foxes didn't deserve to lose that game because they dominated late on and were extremely unlucky not to score an equaliser.

New signing Abdul Fatawu hit the post and he was just one of three substitutes to make a real impact, with the winger, Cesare Casadei and Stephy Mavididi all coming on and injecting some much-needed energy into Leicester's side.

The ingredients are definitely there for Maresca's side to secure a Premier League return at the first time of asking, but one key weakness was exploited by Rosenior's side on Saturday and it needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

What was Leicester City's key weakness against Hull City?

Leicester are clearly comfortable on the ball and that isn't a surprise considering Maresca has coached alongside Pep Guardiola in the past.

It's also clear that they have attacking quality and have enough depth in each area to sustain their success, with the impact and qualities of those who came off the bench last weekend reinforcing that.

But they look quite vulnerable on the break and looked particularly poor on their left-hand side at times in transition, with Callum Doyle being exposed on a few occasions.

Not only did Liam Delap cut inside him for the only goal of the game, but he ended up on his backside at one point in the second half when he was trying to defend and that led to a chance for the visitors.

There was also a moment during the game when Wout Faes broke forward and left the Foxes looking quite vulnerable, so there's a clear need for them to improve themselves defensively.

Thankfully for Maresca, he now has a chance to work with his players on the training ground now the international break has arrived.

How can Leicester City solve their defensive vulnerability?

Taking out Doyle may be a good idea following his poor game against the Tigers - but he's clearly a talented player and this is why Maresca may be reluctant to drop him.

Considering he has already been out on loan to Sunderland and Coventry City, it's often easy to forget that he's only 19 at this point.

Patience will be needed with the teenager because there are high expectations for him to perform well consistently - but he needs a bit of help on that left-hand side in transition and the left-wing back needs to be reasonably disciplined and speedy if they are to play a back five.

Discipline is the key word here - because a change in formation at this point may not pay dividends.

Ideally, Maresca needs to retain one formation and perfect it, because chopping and changing systems won't give them the best chance of getting back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

It's hard to ask players to stay disciplined when playing a back five because the wing-backs and the wide centre-backs will want to get forward and support those in front of them.

But they have enough quality in attacking areas to ensure they aren't reliant on their defenders to drive forward.

It could be argued that a formation change from a back three to a back four could pay dividends (if they stick to it) because they have that sufficient quality in attacking areas.

They have a decent number of wingers at their disposal and could play Cesare Casadei in an advanced midfield role.

If they operate with a back four, that will decrease the onus on the defenders to drive forward too often, which could allow them to retain their shape at the back and be less vulnerable in transition because of that.

If they are to play a back four though, Doyle shouldn't play at left-back. He will need to be in the centre, where he's likely to thrive the most.