news-engine

After six weeks of hard running, four wins and one draw, Leicester City's pre-season concludes on Friday evening when they face Serie A side Genoa. Thousands of Foxes fans will come to the King Power Stadium to watch Russell Martin's men in action for the first time in LE2, although capacity has been capped at 10,000 due to Leicester's Caribbean Carnival. Martin has gradually moulded his players into his game model throughout the summer. After beating Northampton Town, Bristol Rovers, Burton Albion and Cadiz, they produced arguably their best performance of pre-season in the 3-3 draw against La Liga's Malaga. Genoa presents another difficult challenge. Daniele De Rossi's men finished 16th in Serie A last season and will provide Leicester with another stern physical test. FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! All the latest Leicester City news on LeicestershireLive’s Leicester City Facebook page ! You can also join our WhatsApp Community by clicking HERE The game is the final one for players to force their way into the starting XI on the opening day and for Martin to identify any potential issues within his style of play. Ahead of the visit of the Italian top-flight side, LeicestershireLive have picked out four things supporters should be looking out for... Who is the starting left-back? Christian McFarlane's arrival from Manchester City means Luke Thomas now faces proper competition at left-back. Woyo Coulibaly has been sparingly used in the position at times this summer, but Thomas is and has been the first-choice for some time. Yes, some would argue that he shouldn't be starting after the level of his performances over the course of the past two seasons. However, Thomas has shown encouraging signs in pre-season on the ball and has adjusted to Martin's system, even tucking inside as an inverted full-back at times. McFarlane appears to be a different profile to Thomas. "As a player, I'm intense and aggressive at both ends - attacking and defending," he said. "I like to make runs in behind and can be a bit of a nuisance for the opposition. The way [the manager] wants to play suits me perfectly, so I'm excited to get started." Thomas' strengths don't come in the middle or final third so McFarlane is already looking more likely to play if City look to attack down the wings. The visit of Genoa provides the first opportunity for the 19-year-old to impress and a solid display against a top-flight side will certainly give Martin something to think about. He has to demonstrate his 1v1 defending and tactical awareness at both ends of the pitch. But if the Man City loanee could prove to be a valuable attacking option, he could stake his claim to start at Meadow Lane in two weeks. Martin's attacking 8 dilemma For the first time in years, Leicester have an abundance of options in midfield and it's arguably the best area of Martin's squad. Setting up in a 4-3-3 on paper, City will continue with a defensive midfielder and two in front, one with greater defensive responsibility and one with more license to attack. Oliver Skipp has been the main No.6, although Hamza Choudhury's display in the latter stages against Malaga has given Martin something to think about. It's the two No.8s where the questions are. Conor Chaplin is the favourite to start against Genoa and this season after his arrival from Ipswich Town. The 29-year-old has played on the right of the two, a position he told LeicestershireLive is his best, with a clear role in the set-up - in and out of possession. Against Cadiz, Chaplin pressed defenders and joined the striker when City didn't have the ball. In possession, he linked up well with Riley Carr on the right and roamed into dangerous positions. His 'secret weapon' is making runs into the box, delaying his run and finishing the pull-backs from his wingers. Watch out for that. Next to him, the other position is far less certain. The options are Sammy Braybrooke or Louis Page, with Will Alves certain to start on the right. Both players offer different things, something City boss Martin has been so vocal on. Braybrooke has been the standout performer technically and physically throughout pre-season. Despite his smaller frame, he manages to maintain possession under pressure and has the intelligence to take the ball on the half-turn in the centre of the pitch. Page is more of an attacking midfielder and while he is capable of driving towards the danger zone with speed, he has lacked the physicality to keep the ball when pressed. His defensive game has improved from 12 months ago and when City are dominating the ball, he is more dangerous. The general feeling among supporters is that Braybrooke should get the nod. When LeicestershireLive watched Leicester train in Jerez last Friday, Braybrooke was often the subject of praise from Conor Hourihane and Andy King. Right now, the 22-year-old is in line to get the nod. But Page, off the bench, is such a good option and could easily wrestle his way into the XI. Potential loan watch At this stage of pre-season, the size of the squad on the teamsheet won't be as bulky as it has been. In Marbella seven days ago, City had 25 players in the squad, with 23 getting on the pitch. On Friday, that won't happen. This is the final chance for Martin to watch his strongest XI on the pitch together and the aim will be, hopefully, to get a full 90 minutes in the legs for many of those players. That means that having endless names on the bench makes no sense. It's been so exciting to see the number of youngsters come into the team and impress throughout the summer, but decisions will have to be made on which players head out on loan and which return to the Under-21s for the Premier League 2 campaign. So far, only Victor Kristiansen has left Leicester on loan and by the time the transfer window closes, a crop of youngsters will secure opportunities to play first-team football as the next step in their development. Tonight might point to who we can expect to depart. Kevon Gray has been part of the squad throughout the summer but has occasionally been left on the bench. The experience has been invaluable for him and an entire campaign playing senior football would be perfect for him. Misrad Ali is another who is likely to leave on loan after McFarlane's arrival. Tommy Neale, Lorenz Hutchinson and Jake Evans have all featured but all could leave on loan. There's an argument that Neale has done enough to be in Martin's plans while Hutchinson has probably edged it in comparison to Evans in the friendlies. Nathan Opoku is another one. He missed the trip to Spain due to a slight back issue so it will be interesting to see if he features. Riley Carr's trial One youngster who has impressed so much with his ability, desire and pace is Riley Carr. With Abdul Fatawu and Silko Thomas no longer at the club, Leicester are short on the right wing. Alves appears to be the first-choice and the academy product has been on top form this summer. Still only 21, this season has been earmarked as his biggest chance yet to fulfil his potential after coming onto the scene as a 16-year-old. The latest academy prospect to catch the eye is Carr. After signing from non-league club Hertford Town last year, the winger has been a problem for left-backs this summer, with his assist for Opoku's goal at Burton excellent wing play. Liam Cullen's imminent signing does add an option out wide, but it's unlikely that he will play on the right, meaning Carr has a real opportunity to compete against good defenders and prove he can be in the first-team this campaign. Alves is more of a playmaking wide forward, who runs in behind, comes inside and threads passes behind the defence. Carr is similar to Fatawu in regards to his preference to run at defenders down the touchline. He is not yet ready to start regularly but there is a case to be made that he should be viewed as an option off the bench. Should City recruit another winger, Carr may spend another season with the Under-21s or head out on loan for regular senior football. But after his pre-season, he has undoubtedly strengthened his case to remain part of the first-team plans.