I shall leave you with Paul Doyle’s match report from the King Power. Enjoy – and have a nice evening/afternoon/morning! Thanks for your company as ever.
Exactly how significant was that Leicester win? Crystal Palace v Manchester United, courtesy of Scott Murray, may well inform us. Guess who Leicester play on the final day ...
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As mentioned, Leicester visit Spurs in another very big game for them on Sunday. Sheffield United host Everton on Monday, and will really be requiring the three points from that.
Jonny Evans speaks!
“It was very important, after the last game it was important that we showed a bit of pride tonight and we did that really well.’
On Thomas:
“I thought we was outstanding, everything he did was immaculate, man of the match for me. He’s trained really well and everyone’s really impressed, I think that shows.”
On Vardy:
“On the break he’s always going to be a real threat and you saw that today, he probably could have had a goal himself but his speed gives defences a hard time.”
My man of the match there was the youngster, Thomas. Not just for the assist, although that was a good example of his work: his distribution was crisp, precise, intelligent and effective, while he supported attacks well without going overboard and defended superbly when required. Looks a very, very tidy player.
Full-time: Leicester 2-0 Sheffield United
On this evidence, reports of Leicester’s demise are exaggerated. They’ll travel to Spurs on Sunday feeling invigorated; they deserved this and could have won by one or two more. A flat evening’s work from the Blades, who didn’t compete as they can and now must struggle to get back into the European spots.
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90+2 min: We are in the throes of four added minutes.
90 min: Bennett has to defend a vicious McBurnie cross ahead of Mousset, so it’s a United corner. Schmeichel flaps but is fouled, and that is probably the last chance to make things awkward.
89 min: Theo Walcott has equalised for Everton against Villa, possibly making the dogfight rather less intriguing.
87 min: Sheffield United tried to build up a head of steam in this second half but have never really managed it, and in the end they’ll be beaten by an on-song opponent that has looked a little stung by the criticism since the Bournemouth debacle. While I blather away, Thomas defends excellently again from one Blades incursion. He has been faultless on his debut. Intelligent, ambitious, robust.
85 min: This will keep Sheffield United in eighth, still only a notch off Spurs and Wolves but very vulnerable to an Arsenal push behind them.
83 min: Vardy has shown a side to his game we sometimes forget about today – he could have had at least three assists, but that was a big one. It means Manchester United need to keep pace with them by winning at Palace in a bit. And the goal is a more than fair reflection of this game.
Goal! Leicester 2-0 Sheffield United (Gray, 79)
That’s how you make an impact! Evans pushes a lovely ball forward to Vardy, who makes his latest dash away down the left. He has Gray open inside the box and passes to him but, when the sub’s first touch is slightly awry, must start wondering what on earth he has to do to get an assist today. But no matter: Gray makes light of the deteriorating angle and angles a fine low finish into the corner!
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79 min: There’s been an improvement from Wilder’s side since Sharp came on, that’s for sure, and they’ve committed men forwards. But there’s only been that deflected Egan header, really, if we’re talking about threat posed.
76 min: Evans is booked for a foul and we have a Blades free-kick in a very nice position on the right. Norwood tends to enjoy these, and it’s a good one ... but Bennett does enough to clear Leicester’s lines. We will now see Demarai Gray on for Barnes, who should have scored at least once since half-time.
74 min: Villa lead 1-0 at Everton! That could really inject life into the relegation battle. *This* game should really be dead though and Vardy lays on another chance, this time for Tielemans, but Egan slides in to block before Henderson is required to intervene again.
73 min: Lundstram blazes over from range. Leicester are perhaps getting a little bit deep for their liking – but then they are rapid on the counter.
71 min: McBurnie hasn’t had one of his better days, and a loose touch is gobbled up by Ndidi. Leicester can maybe sense the balance tilting a tiny bit, though, and Choudhury is brought on for Perez to offer a bit of a foothold.
68 min: Drinks again, now, before a very big final quarter.
67 min: That little episode has given the Blades a bit of a lift. They enjoy a sustained spell of possession before Sharp crosses beyond everybody from near the left byline, Thomas dealing with the ball as it zips beyond the far post.
64 min: Sharp gets in on the act immediately and earns a corner. Will Leicester be punished here? We’ve seen it happen so many times in games like this ... and it almost happens again, Egan beating Evans at the far post and his header appearing to deflect off Morgan, forcing a very sharp reaction save from Schmeichel at his near post! It’s the first time he’s been tested but that was a vital stop. Two further flag kicks are delivered, with no comparable chance created.
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62 min: Henderson saves from Barnes again! Ndidi wins possession, as he so often does, in midfield and sends Vardy away. He lays it on a plate, really, for Barnes but his shot is far too close to the keeper and it’s diverted behind. The corner is cleared and you’d have to say Leicester should be out of sight by now. Which will worry them.
59 min: Tielemans floats a corner in but it’s glanced away. We are yet to see much of an uptick from the Blades, bar perhaps a bit more possession. They make a fourth change, though, and it’s a very attacking one – Billy Sharp on for Basham!
57 min: Barnes bursts onto a Vardy pass and, from a very similar position to the one where his teammate hit the post, forces another smart save from Henderson’s legs. He was perhaps a touch unbalanced; it was a good chance.
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54 min: Leicester should be more than one ahead, I think, but it’s bound to get increasingly tense if the Blades stay in this a while longer.
51 min: Vardy hits the post! He’s slid through by Tielemans, not for the first time, but it’s on his left side and he never quite looks comfortable, with a recovering defender for company. His shot blasts off the outside of the frame, and it’s a let-off for the away side.
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49 min: The Blades are definitely seeing more of the ball at this point. But can they convert that into a chance? O’Connell’s ball towards McBurnie is flicked on by Fleck, but it runs through to Schmeichel.
47 min: A quiet start to the second period, with the ball not spending that much time in play.
Peeeeep! Second half underway
Will that triple whammy make a difference?
Three half-time changes from the Blades! Fleck, Lundstram and Mousset will replace McGoldrick, Osborn and Berge. There’s the Wilder rocket!
We will bring you the second half in five or six minutes. Don’t forget to tune into a brand new Football Weekly Extra when all this fun is done.
Everton and Villa are drawing 0-0. That would keep Villa in the relegation battle but they really could use a win, pronto. Leeds are about to beat Barnsley in the second tier and edge within millimetres of the promised land.
Half-time: Leicester 1-0 Sheffield United
More like it from Leicester, this, and they lead deservedly through that nifty Perez goal. They’ve come to the party when it was really needed, so far. The Blades might reflect that they’ve not exactly been overrun though, for all that, and you’d expect Wilder to cajole some kind of improvement at the interval. It’s been a bit flat from his side.
43 min: A bit better from the visitors, McGoldrick just a little flat footed as Norwood bends a decent ball from the right.
19 - Luke Thomas (19y 36d) is the youngest English player to assist a goal on his @premierleague debut since Marcus Rashford for Manchester United in February 2016 (18y 120d), and the 15th English teenager to do so overall. Dreamland. pic.twitter.com/waOuk9lq2Q
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 16, 2020
In four years’ time he’ll be sparking government U-turns!
41 min: One thing Leicester are doing very well here is *competing*, against a side that imposes itself as well as anyone. They are winning their physical battles and, while the Blades themselves are anything but agricultural, it’s letting their slicker technique come to the fore.
39 min: Leicester have their latest corner after Barnes, such a strong runner, makes headway. It’s their fifth, and one of their better ones: Henderson has to paw Tielemans’ cross away.
37 min: Barnes tries to feed Vardy but Henderson comes out to collect ahead of him.
35 min: A Tielemans foul gives the Blades a free-kick midway inside opposition territory. A chance to redress the balance? Not this time, as O’Connell can’t direct a header across the box.
34 min: I fully expect Sheffield United to improve, because they are such a resilient side, but they haven’t really offered anything so far beyond that very early McGoldrick glimpse.
32 min: The cavalry come forward for a Tielemans free-kick, but McBurnie leaps to bullet a defensive header away.
31 min: A fine finish from Perez and great work from Thomas, whose calm use of the ball has been a feature so far.
Goal! Leicester 1-0 Sheffield United (Perez, 29)
I was just writing that Thomas looked very neat on the left, but now he gets an assist! The ball reaches him near the left corner of the box and some debutants might just stick a cross in. But he doesn’t panic: he slips a cute ball inside to Perez, about 15 yards out, who drills the goal Leicester deserve past a despairing Henderson!
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27 min: “Vardy’s style of play will never inspire poetry. It’s too simple. Work hard constantly, always on the attack, score goals. All match long ... it’s not stylish, but is more effective than many players we ooh and ahh over,” observes Mary Waltz.
25 min: Baldock is flagged offside ... and it’s drinks!
24 min: That’s more threatening though, Henderson doing well to block Perez’s angled blast from a looping Evans delivery to the far post. A subsequent shot deflects wide and the hosts have a corner. Henderson catches that.
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22 min: Leicester work the ball at length, seeking an opening, but Sheffield United’s off-the-ball structure is impermeable and eventually it’s played all the way back to Schmeichel.
20 min: If push came to shove you suspect the Blades would take a point here, although it would keep them out of the top seven – and a likely Europa League spot – on goal difference. Leicester really need the win for their Champions League hopes and are playing with urgency.
17 min: A Leicester corner comes to nothing, but this game is rattling along quite pleasantly in the early evening sun just now. Barnes lets fly from 20 yards but pings it against an unwitting Vardy and behind.
16 min: Tielemans sends Vardy scampering into *acres* on the left with men steaming into the area, looking for an accurate cross. They don’t get one: Vardy overhits it badly and that’s quite a waste.
14 min: But they now concede a silly corner, Evans overcooking a backpass that Schmeichel can’t keep in on the stretch. Will they be punished? Nope, Schmeichel punching a good Norwood delivery away with McGoldrick challenging. The Blades then win a dangerous free-kick on the right, enjoying a chance to mount some serious pressure. Egan rises at the far post but nods well over.
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12 min: And Vardy comes close now! Justin delivers from the right and Vardy, making space at the near post after his first attempt is blocked, sees an angled effort blocked by Henderson’s foot. Leicester are knocking at the door.
11 min: Barnes eats up ground with a driving run and seeks to play Vardy through on the inside-left, but a defender *just* deflects the ball past him and out for a throw.
9 min: Fairly good chance for Perez, who is found at the far post by an excellent swinging delivery from Thomas. He should probably get his header on target but puts it high and wide. Thomas has begun well.
8 min: Sheffield United are looking for quick, wide switches and work it nicely to Stevens that way. But he loses possession and a chance to spring forward fades.
7 min: It’s been a high-tempo start with Leicester, after that early scare, clearly trying to come out on the front foot.
5 min: That one reaches Evans, who has peeled off at the far post, but nobody can really connect with his header across.
4 min: Now Thomas wins Leicester a corner with his first action, showing good early appetite to get forward. They could do with a flying start. Tielemans’ delivery isn’t great but Leicester maintain the pressure, a wobbly Tielemans shot eventually being deflected for another flag kick ...
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2 min: Almost a great start for the Blades, slicing Leicester apart on the right before Baldock lays back for McGoldrick, under considerable pressure from the attentive Justin, to sky his shot.
Peeeeep! Off. We. Go!
Sheffield United, right to left, kick off.
The teams are emerging at the King Power! The Blades in white shirts, black shorts ... and the Foxes in the famous blue and white.
So good to see David McGoldrick, a player I *absolutely love*, breaking his top-flight duck and scoring twice against Chelsea. Did you know Leicester bid for him in August 2014, while he was with Ipswich, but it was rejected? How differently things might have turned out for McGoldrick, now 32, and Leicester – who won the league the following season – if the Tractor Boys had said yay.
More on Luke Thomas: he’s an England under-19 international and has played in the EFL Trophy for Leicester’s second string this season. He’s well rated by Rodgers and his staff.
If you haven’t seen Chris Wilder on Jamie Vardy by now, you probably should!
“You deserve to be in the pub and have the career that you've had, not the one that Jamie Vardy's got, so shut up."
— Rob Staton (@robstaton) July 16, 2020
Chris Wilder on his respect for the Premier League’s top scorer, ahead of Leicester vs Sheffield United tonight #twitterblades @BBCLookNorth pic.twitter.com/c4qyzIO5eO
One last plug – promise! Simon Burnton has Everton v Aston Villa for you. I watched Everton turn in a stunningly awful performance at Molineux on Sunday; surely they can’t get any worse ...
Paul Doyle is capable of many fine things, and “write a darned good preview of Leicester v Sheffield United” happens to be one of them.
Will Leeds be joining these two in the top flight next season? Scott Murray has their huge game with Barnsley here:
Leicester field a debutant! Congratulations to 19-year-old left-back, Luke Thomas, who makes his senior bow here. At the other end of the age spectrum, 36-year-old Wes Morgan starts in the league for the first time since late December, a situation necessitated by Caglar Soyuncu’s suspension. You look at that team, see the list of other absentees – Chilwell, Maddison, Pereira – and realise Leicester are going to have to squeak over the line.
The Blades don’t change a thing from their 3-0 walloping of Chelsea. And why would they?
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Team news
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Bennett, Morgan, Evans; Justin, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas; Perez, Barnes; Vardy. Subs: Ward, Johnson, Mendy, Choudhury, James, Praet, Gray, Hirst, Iheanacho.
Sheffield United: Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Osborn, Stevens; McGoldrick, McBurnie. Subs: Jagielka, Lundstram, Robinson, Mousset, Moore, Freeman, Sharp, Zivkovic, Fleck.
Take all that in, and I’ll be back shortly with some reaction.
Well, hello!
We continue with The Football. And potentially some very good football. This is a match with implications that will resonate throughout the top half of table, whichever way it might swing.
Are Leicester in crisis? Nope. Next. They’re fourth on goal difference and would have bitten your hand off for that a year ago, and perhaps a sizeable chunk of wrist too. But they are certainly on a bad run, and one that threatens to cancel out the supreme work they did before Christmas. That defeat at Bournemouth was bruising, undone by a couple of minutes of sheer madness, but then if it’s good enough for Liverpool! They do need a result today, and defeat in particular would start you questioning even their Europa League credentials. But this hasn’t become a bad team overnight: it’s probably one that overperformed a little earlier in the year and, hampered by key injuries and a dip in joie de vivre, hasn’t managed to get that momentum back. People will, you sense, be queuing up to get the Brendan gags in if they fail now, but let’s be better than that. They’re great fun to watch, at their best, and it’d be lovely to see them back in the Champions League.
You can’t *quite* rule out the Blades pipping them to exactly that outcome if they win here and move two points behind the Foxes. The season’s surprise success story seem more likely to end up in the Europa spots though and I’ve been really impressed by how they’ve arrested a post-lockdown slump to come back and fairly pelt the likes of Spurs and Chelsea. It really isn’t easy to pick yourselves up and go again like that, but Chris Wilder has already shown he’s nigh on a miracle worker. A victory would put them sixth, above Spurs and Wolves. They are the most impressive promoted side since Ipswich in 2000-01, for me, and it’d be great to see them finish the job.
No holds barred out there, then, we hope! It’s a big one. Let’s take it in together; send in your emails and tweets to the addresses above!
