OPINION
Brendan Rodgers has been heaping praise on centre forward Jamie Vardy ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Leicester.
Speaking to The Mirror, Rodgers said: “Well he does (strike fear into opponents) there’s no getting away from that,
“When I was preparing a team to play against him you just knew you’ve got to be really careful against him, because if you don’t counter-press the game well and there’s space to play that pass, he’s going to hurt you.
“He’s a goalscorer.”
The 32-year old striker has been prolific against the so-called ‘top six’ clubs so far in his career, including the five goals in which he has previously scored against City.
So it’s no surprise for Rodgers to indirectly warn Man City about Vardy’s quality.
Whichever defensive line-up Pep Guardiola chooses to put out against the Foxes, they will have to be on top form to handle Vardy, who is still in and amongst the race for the golden boot with two games remaining in the Premier League season.
The striker has managed to register 18 goals so far this season in the Premier League, which is more than every member of Manchester City’s team baring leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero, who is currently on 20 goals.
The Leicester danger-man will no doubt be on form once again in the fixture, after recording an impressive brace against Arsenal in Leicester’s last outing, and Guardiola will have to be fully prepared to deal with him when the time comes.
As Rodgers explained, Vardy is the type of player who can not be given too much space and time on the ball, because he will hurt you, whether you are a side challenging for the title or not.
However, City have been defensively secure for the majority of the season, having only conceded 22 goals in the 36 games that they have played in the Premier League.
Luckily for The Citizens, Guardiola has lots of options for his forward players at his disposal to cancel out the attacking prowess of Vardy, but the title challengers will certainly have to be fully switched on in this fixture to keep the experienced striker quiet by having a game plan in place.