FIFA 20: Leicester Career Mode Guide - line-up, tactics, who to sign & more

Leicester have had a phenomenal start to the 2019/20 season. We’re fast approaching Christmas and therefore the halfway point in the Premier League season, and Brendan Rodger’s team are sitting in 2^ndplace, winning 12 out of their 16 games!

They may have had a spectacular a season back in 2016, winning the title, but something about this current squad just feels different. You get the impression that this team are on the brink of establishing themselves as a consistent top four side.

Now it’s your turn, can you take the reins at Leicester as they transition in to a top Premier League side and perhaps even help them return to Premier League glory? RealSport is here to give you a helping hand as you set up your game on FIFA 20.

Team Rating

It has to be said that Leicester have been pretty hard done by with their 4 star rating, made up of a consistent 78 rating across defence, midfield and attack.

Formation

Your best option for Leicester is a 4-2-3-1 wide formation. This formation utilises your pacey wingers, who can link up with your attacking mid and striker, but also gives ample cover from the two defensive midfielders. If you prefer playing Tielemans further up the pitch, a 4-3-3 attack formation may suit you better.

Kasper Schmeichel follows in his father’s footsteps, starting between the sticks. He’s covered by a back four of Ben Chilwell (POT 85), Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira (86 sprint speed). 

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Wilfred Ndidi (86 standing tackle) and Youri Tielemans (POT 87) provide defensive cover in the midfield, behind an advanced James Maddison (93 ball control). Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez cover the wings, linking up with the emphatic Jamie Vardy (87 finishing) up front.

A well balanced bench would consist of Danny Ward, Filip Benkovic, Christian Fuchs, Hamza Choudhury, Dennis Praet, Demarai Gray and Kelechi Iheanacho. 

Tactics and instructions

For your offensive tactics, you should use balanced; Leicester’s squad is well balanced in every position, so it makes sense to retain your formations and play your system.

Defensively, you should go for press on heavy touch; with the pace of your forwards and the likes of Ndidi and Tielemans pressuring the midfield, you can easily force your opposition in to errors.

If you’re trailing in a game, Demarai Gray (86 sprint speed) and Kelechi Iheanacho (77 positioning make good attacking subs. Hamza Choudhury (88 aggression) is your best bet when trying to see out a win.

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Team instructions add another level of customisation to your team; the following instructions are what we recommend. 

Primarily, Vardy’s defensive support should be set to ‘stay forward’ and his attacking runs set to ‘get in behind’ allowing him to expose opposition defences.

Similarly, Perez and Barnes’ support runs should be set to ‘get in behind’, allowing them to utilise their pace, before linking up with Vardy in the middle

Both Ndidi and Tielemans’ attacking support should be set to ‘stay back while attacking’ and their defensive positioning set to ‘cover centre’. With four players roaming forward, these two midfielders must sit in front of the back four in defensive cover.

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James Maddison’s defensive support should be set to ‘stay forward’. With both wingers set on balanced defence and both defensive midfielders set to stay back, we should keep Maddison advanced so he can help Vardy with counter attacks.

Training

Leicester have a strong starting lineup, but they also have some great youngsters coming through the ranks. Ensuring these players reach their potential is vital in Leicester’s future as a top Premier League side.

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These players are indicated by the green symbol in the training section of Career Mode and should be your priority.

Our recommendation is to focus on the development of James Justin (POT 83), Filip Benkovic (POT 83), Hamza Choudhury (POT 83), Harvey Barnes (POT 85) and Kelechi Iheanacho (POT 80).

The Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £117 million

Starting wage budget: £450,000 a week

Who should go

Leicester’s squad is currently 33 players strong – with no European football we can afford to let several players go, raising the funds to bring in some top talent.

Daniel Amartey (£3m), Marc Albrighton (£6.8m), Nampalys Mendy (£5.4m) and Matty James (£833k) can all be offloaded, as none of them live up to the new standards of Leicester.

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In addition, we can sell youngsters Calvin Ughelumba (£200k), Khanya Leshabela (£405k), George Thomas (£700k) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£600k). They may yet make something of themselves in the Premier League, however FIFA 20 doesn’t think they will, giving them low potentials.

The sale of these players will result in an additional transfer budget allocation of £15 million and free up £222,000 a week in wages.

Loans

As we’ve seriously thinned out our squad it would be unwise to loan any players out. However, if you want to ensure your young talents get play time, you can loan out Kelechi Iheanacho and Sidnei Tavares. Just bear in mind that you may have to recall them if you’re unlucky with injuries.

Who to Sign

New transfer budget: £167 million

New wage budget: £819,000 a week

Top Class Left Winger

Leicester are on the brink of becoming a seriously good side – therefore, our acquisitions should be in line with this. With Gray and Barnes not yet at their full potential, signing one of the best left wingers in the game should be a priority and would certainly be reflective of our intent with Leicester.

Wilfried Zaha has had a fantastic career in the Premier League so far, contributing 34 goals and 36 assists across 193 appearances in the competition. At just 26 years old, Zaha is in his prime and therefore a hot property – in fact, he was close to a move to Arsenal over the summer.

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You can sign him on FIFA 20 for £44 million and £80,000 a week in wages – with 92 sprint speed, 90 dribbling and five star skill moves, he’s worth every penny.

Alternate Options

A Threat from the Right

As we’ve mentioned, Leicester are stepping up a level in quality. Their midfield and defence are superb and will serve you well for seasons to come, but their front three isn’t quite at the level it needs to be. A dangerous right winger would make a great acquisition, adding even more dimensions to your attack.

With the remainder of our transfer budget, Bertrand Traore is just about the best choice. The right winger is only 24 but has made 109 appearances for Lyon, contributing 30 goals and 15 assists.

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Crucially, Traore is left-footed, so he can cut inside from the right and have a go at goal and his 87 sprint speed and 86 ball control means he can beat defenders easily to get in the best shooting positions

Traore can be signed on FIFA 20 for just £12 million plus £70,000 a week in wages, so he’s a great bargain buy.

Alternate Options

Contracts

The only contract expiries you need to be concerned about are Wes Morganand Christian Fuchs. Your best bet is to let these two go (Morgan will likely retire anyway), and look for young replacements, to cover your starting back four.

Managerial objectives

The managerial objectives at Leicester are more than achievable and top players will be looking to overachieve in their first season.

Continental success is a medium priority – this is odd as there are no objectives for this section because Leicester aren’t in a European competition.

Domestic success is of medium importance and is achievable. You are required to finish mid table in the Premier League and reach the Round of 16 in the FA Cup in your first season. You must also finish in a Europa League spot within two seasons. 

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Brand Exposure is a medium priority, requiring you to sign one crucial first team player assigned to a forward position and increase season ticket holders by 10% of the stadium’s capacity within three seasons. Signing Zaha will resolve the first objective, but you’ll have to achieve a consistent level of success to increase season ticket holders.

Youth Development is of low priority and requires you to complete two objectives. Firstly, you must sign two players younger than 20, with a higher potential than the average overall rating of your squad. Secondly you are required togrow one youth player by at least five overall points. Don’t stress too much over these objectives as they’re a low priority but if you set up your youth system early on, they are easily achievable.

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Financial is a low priority and you are required to finish the season with a profit margin of £27 million. As this is a low priority, don’t sacrifice the growth of your club to achieve this objective.

Return to Premier League Glory

In your first season, you should aim to finish in a Europa League spot. With no European football, you can play strong lineups in cup games and you may even be able to pick up some silverware! If you don’t achieve the Europa League spot in the first season, it’s crucial that you do in the second season.

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With a midfield made up of three players with potentials of 86 and above, a strong defence and Jamie Vardy, Leicester are one of the most exciting teams to manage on the game. If you sign well and nurture young talent, there’s nothing stopping you from leading Leicester back to Premier League glory in a few seasons time.

Full Leicester Player Ratings

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