Stephy Mavididi has been handed his first Premier League start of the season with Steve Cooper making one change to his Leicester City side for the clash with Crystal Palace (3pm kick-off).
Mavididi, on the bench for the first three league matches, made a difference as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa and now comes into the 11. Abdul Fatawu is the man to make way, the Ghanaian dropping out of the side for the first time this term.
It means Jordan Ayew keeps his place and starts at the ground he called home for six years until this summer. It will be interesting to see which sides Mavididi and Ayew are starting on, with Mavididi traditionally playing off the left but with Ayew starting there last time out.
Which winger plays on which side could influence the roles of the full-backs. If Ayew plays on the right and shuffles inside to become a second number 10 when City have the ball, then James Justin will be the man pushing on, leaving Victor Kristiansen to tuck into a back three.
The two full-backs keep their place, meaning Ricardo Pereira’s wait for a first league start goes on, while Wilfred Ndidi also retains his spot. The Nigerian will again play in an advanced midfield role, with Facundo Buonanotte and Bilal El Khannouss overlooked for now.
At the back, Caleb Okoli keeps his spot next to Wout Faes after the Italian made his Premier League debut against Villa. It means Jannik Vestergaard again misses out, the Dane not even making the bench, with Conor Coady coming in. Kasey McAteer is also omitted from the matchday squad.
City line-up (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Winks, Skipp; Ayew, Ndidi, Mavididi; Vardy. Subs: Ward, Ricardo, Coady, Choudhury, Soumare, El Khannouss, Buonanotte, De Cordova-Reid, Fatawu.
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