Leicester City

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There has been a lot of conversation this week about "dark arts" in football following the draw between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday.

Realistically, everyone who has watched football for longer than one game has seen things they would perceive as "dark arts"; whether it is a player always going down winning free-kicks to take the sting out of the game, kicking the ball into row Z when there was no multi-ball system or time-wasting on goal-kicks.

These are things we see all the time but our perception of it is dependent on the context of a game. You always see some version of it somewhere, and you hope your team would be doing the same thing if in the same situation - because why should you do something that would benefit the opposition you are against?

It is the same as going down a bit more easily to win penalties - some people will say "this guy is a cheat", but then on the other side of their mouth, if it is something that could benefit them, they say "he has tried too hard to stay up, he needed to go down there".

You can have rulings, Ifab can get involved to change this and that, but there will always be a way to push the rules to their limits.

What we saw with Arsenal in that game, where David Raya sat down to get some treatment while the teams gathered, we have seen those moments before. It is not just new to Arsenal - other teams do it.

It is always based on certain moments. You do get more frustrated if it happens against you, but when you need to do it, you encourage people to do it. That is one of the beauties of football - the way you see things is always going to be down to perception, context and just whether you think it is benefiting you or not.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Arsenal (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Cooper has no fresh injury concerns after Tuesday's Carabao Cup match at Walsall but defender Jannik Vestergaard remains unavailable for selection.

• He said he "accepts" criticism from fans after some boos were heard after recent games: "I will always try to understand fans' perspectives and my initial reaction is not to be too defensive and see the rational of why the feeling is the way it is, and then try to do something about it. Supporters pay a lot of money and every supporter's reaction is authentic and you have to respect that."

• He sees it as a chance to respond: "I see it as a good opportunity to show the real me, to show how well I want to do here and how strong I am as a character, and how good I am as a coach. When feelings are not as we want them I will try and take responsibility to change that."

• On the challenge posed by Arsenal: "We're coming up against an incredible team who have been in great form for a number of years. In other seasons with the points they got they would have won the league. It's these games that you have to embrace with anticipation of succeeding and not fearing failure."

• Asked how the Foxes will approach the game, Cooper said: "Everything in our game has to be right - on the ball, off the ball, game management, set-pieces - they’ve scored some important goals from set-pieces. Everything has to be close to perfect, including the mentality and belief. We need to be mindful of where Arsenal's strengths are but we have to back ourselves to deal with that."

• On improving performances: "We know what it takes to play well. We know what it looks like tactically, technically. We're very clear on how the team plays, we train it every day. We've got to get consistency on our style of play. We do have a way of playing and sometimes we've not managed to reach the heights."

• Cooper says the core principles on what he wants from his team are: "We want to play with the ball, exciting attacking football. We want to create overloads in certain areas of the pitch that allow us to hit the hotspots in a game that can hurt the opponents. Players through the middle in midfielders and number 10s and offering width from high full-backs or wide wingers. When we get through the lines we want enough players to continue the attack."

Catch up on all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Leicester are yet to win in the Premier League and some fans vented their anger towards manager Steve Cooper during the Foxes' Carabao Cup tie at Walsall, a game they won on penalties.

They lost Enzo Maresca, who was fundamentally changing the way the team played and what their team's culture was.

Then, to change to someone else who is coming from a rival - I thought it was strange. Appointing somebody whose last job was at Nottingham Forest to me does not necessarily give you the greatest foundation when you go to Leicester.

Some players have been unavailable and some players have left as well. It is a tough situation for them but results will count, results will matter, so if they can get them, this feeling will cease a little bit.

Ultimately for Cooper, the pressing thing is to make sure of staying in the Premier League and if you are one of those teams that is down there, that is the objective.

It does feel like it is going to be a dogfight down near the bottom and as a consequence it will not be too glamorous.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup fourth round, with 12 Premier League clubs having made it through and Newcastle set to play their postponed tie against Wimbledon on 1 October.

There are four confirmed all-Premier League fixtures, including Tottenham hosting Manchester City and holders Liverpool travelling to Brighton.

Ties are scheduled to take place the week commencing 28 October.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below:

• Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday

• Southampton v Stoke

• Tottenham v Manchester City

• AFC Wimbledon/Newcastle v Chelsea

• Manchester United v Leicester

• Brighton v Liverpool

• Preston North End v Arsenal

• Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

See the full draw

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Tensions were laid bare for Leicester on Tuesday.

Their 3-0 penalty shootout win over Walsall, following a 0-0 draw, sent the Foxes through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Yet, struggling to break the League Two side down, a section of supporters directed negative chants towards boss Steve Cooper urging him to "sort it out" with a fan also running onto the pitch, gesturing at the dugout before being escorted off.

From his first day, when he wrote an open letter to supporters, Cooper has strived for unity, while he has invited legends like Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart into the training ground to soak up their knowledge of the club.

He has looked to get under the skin of the Foxes but, after Tuesday, it appears he has yet to break the surface with some of the fanbase.

That is not something Cooper has ignored - he spoke following the shootout about needing to build credit with supporters and owning any chants at him.

Putting Saturday's visit to Arsenal aside, the next two home games against Bournemouth and Cooper's former side Nottingham Forest, either side of a trip to Southampton, are likely to go a long way to determining the opinion of the paying fans.

Regardless of this being a different era for Leicester - following their title winning and Champions League exploits - there is always an expectation to get results, even if Cooper has only had five league games with a new squad.

Few newly promoted sides fly up the league, especially ones who lost their manager and star man when both Enzo Maresca and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall left left for Chelsea.

Managers always need time, though it is the one commodity rarely afforded to them.

And Cooper is no different.

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Leicester City boss Steve Cooper says that he is seeing "positive signs" after his side's victory over Walsall in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

The Premier League side required a penalty shootout to overcome League Two opposition, with goalkeeper Danny Ward saving three spot kicks to spare an upset.

"A tough night but you didn't see anyone shying away from it," Cooper said. "There have been so many moments, times where we've gone down in games and come back, they are positive signs.

"We just have to do other things better to make sure we are whole in our performance and getting better results overall. We feel like we are doing a lot of good things but have to turn it into performances on match days."

Sections of the Foxes' travelling support voiced their frustrations during the match but Cooper hopes the victory will mark a turning point for the team.

"It's maybe nights like this we can look back and form a strong relationship," he said. "We are only a game or two away now from the quarter-final so we want to do well in this cup."

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Carabao Cup game between Walsall and Leicester.

Here are some of your comments:

Brian: We were awful for much of the game, a few bright spots but mostly not very good. I fear the game against Arsenal on Saturday.

Mark: Woeful performance. I'm at a loss to see what system/style they're trying to play. I get that it was a much changed team but these are Premier League players, including many internationals, facing a League Two team. You'd never have known it. Cooper has work to do if he wants to still be here at Christmas.

James: Hardly a performance worthy of silencing the doubters and the rumours of a possible dressing room mutiny. To barely lay a glove on lower-league opposition only raises more questions. That said, cup runs are a welcome distraction from early league struggles, so Steve Cooper can breathe an huge sigh of relief, for now. Up next? Arsenal away...ah.

Richard: Leicester very fortunate to get through in the end. Seemed to lack any cohesion and clearly crying out for a goal scorer and playmaker. The body language of the players was poor and left me wondering whether the camp is happy with how the coaching staff are asking them to play. It is clear without more quality we will struggle this season.

Andy: Going to be a long season. No fox in the box and no urgency when in front of goal. Danny Ward to the rescue.

Former Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt believes the Foxes have goalkeeper Danny Ward to thank for still being in the Carabao Cup following the penalty shoot-out victory away at League Two side Walsall.

Speaking on the latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Fryatt said: "To think you've come away to a League Two side and your hero is your goalkeeper, it doesn't look great.

"The only one really is probably Danny Ward who can feel good about it. Steve Cooper in that it saves an embarrassment but in terms of the players out there it was really poor.

"The quality throughout was poor. The biggest compliment I can pay to Walsall is that you'd probably say they were the Premier League team.

"You can make excuses for Leicester with all the changes but it wasn't a good showing, it was far from convincing."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Leicester manager Steve Cooper on his side's Carabao Cup third-round win over Walsall on penalties: "An average performance at best - we gave too much hope to Walsall and the crowd.

"For all the ball we had, we weren't enough of an attacking threat and didn't create enough dangerous moments in the game.

"You run the risk with changes but it was a very experienced team out there with high-level players."

On negative chants from the visiting supporters: "I'll own it and you'll never hear me having any disrespect to fans' opinions.

"We have to build some credit with the supporters to do the job, but I knew that anyway. It's things like that which will make me even more committed to do well, because I'm desperate to do that.

"I want to do well for this football club - I've bought into what it stands for, I take that responsibility seriously.

"Nobody said this season would be easy. It's going to be a challenging season but nobody is up for it more than me.

"We can definitely play better. I won't be hiding away from chants, no problem with it. I'm even more committed to that now than I have been before and even that was at its maximum."

Michael Beardmore
BBC Sport Journalist at Poundland Bescot Stadium

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Mere weeks into his Leicester tenure, Steve Cooper heard his first real cat-calls – and vowed after the game he would not shy away from them.

Chants of ‘Cooper, sort it out’ and ‘this is embarrassing’ punctuated the second half at the Poundland Bescot Stadium as Leicester looked prime cup-shock material.

The boos at the final whistle were replaced by cheers after the penalty shootout triumph but Cooper admitted afterwards the outcome glossed over a display he termed “average at best”.

Rather than attempting to deflect the unrest, however, Cooper said he was determined to tackle it head on and “prove himself” to the Leicester support.

His vow to “own” the criticism made a refreshing change from so many bosses who either ignore fan unhappiness or wheel out excuses.

Cooper did none of that – but he did defend his decision to make 10 changes, insisting the team he put out should have been experienced enough to prevail.

Ultimately, they did – but the fact they needed penalties to eke past a League Two side will raise concerns about the depth of quality at his disposal.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester’s performance, external

Come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton thinks Leicester, along with all the promoted teams, would take avoiding relegation from the Premier League "by any means".

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Sutton believes Steve Cooper has "a really difficult job" and is "still striving to find out what his best first XI is."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Kate Blakemore
Fan writer

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Leicester weathered the storm on Saturday (literally!) and the performance, particularly the first half, was a damp squib.

The season's first 'six pointer' had fans fired up, eagerly anticipating the first win, against the Toffees who were in a sticky spot. However, the first half was lacklustre and littered with errors, with many fans questioning Steve Cooper's future.

We're used to a distinct identity under Enzo Maresca’s philosophy - although that didn't escape fan criticism either. It was arguably much easier for Maresca to instil his philosophy in the Championship; a much more forgiving league away from the spotlight. Cooper's philosophy is opaque, he's unsure of his best 11 and, while we've seen glimpses, we're still waiting for things to click into place.

I think fans justifying Cooper’s sacking is largely based on his time at Forest; a completely different structure, team and set up. This can't be the stick to beat him with – he needs time.

Of the five league games, three were while the transfer window was still open/closing (and included Spurs and Villa); the squad wasn't finalised. Therefore, this squad have had just two games together and of the 14 players used on Saturday, six have little or no Premier League experience.

It’ll be a tough season; everyone said that as we lifted the Championship trophy. Now that's being borne out and the task is upon us, it's clear how tough it is for a promoted team, regardless of manager. We’ve competed and scored in every game and are 15th in the table; I’d take that after 38 games! The players have their part to play - Vardy's one-on-one miss against Spurs and Coady's error last week being examples. Rome wasn’t built in a day. In the words of the great Dolly Parton, 'if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain'.

Find more from Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

Antalyaspor and former Premier League midfielder Andros Townsend speaking about the Premier League's promoted clubs on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "I don't think at the moment (they should be concerned) because especially watching the Ipswich and Southampton game, both teams have got a clear identity of how they want to play and I think if you go back to Luton last season, we didn't get that until maybe the end of October, early November so I think they're already ahead of where we were.

"For Southampton, obviously it's just cutting out the silly mistakes. They're playing out from the back and they're losing it and conceding goals but I don't think they should just throw everything out that they learnt from the Championship. I think they should continue doing it and improving those players and players will improve.

"With Ipswich, the majority of that group have come up from League One into the Championship then into the Premier League so there's always going to be a bit of adaptation and I can see they're improving every game. I think it's still too early to see which teams are going to be in big trouble this season."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

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Leicester manager Steve Cooper says he will pick an "experienced and strong" team to face League Two side Walsall in the Carabao Cup third round (Tuesday, 20:00 BST).

"It's a game we want to win, it's a game where the team we put out will be an experienced and strong one," said Cooper, whose side are yet to win in the Premier League this season.

"Whether we decide to make changes or go with players who play in the league, it will be an experienced team and a game we want to win."

Among those who could be involved is Ricardo Pereira, who was a mainstay in the team that won the Championship title last season but has made only one appearance for the Foxes this season - in the second-round victory over Tranmere.

Cooper said: "Ricky is an excellent pro, a very important player in the dressing room and the culture, he leads by example.

"He'll want to play games and he knows he's in a competition like every other player is and sometimes you have the shirt and other times you haven't.

"We are in a strong position at right-back."

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Five games into the Premier League season, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton - the three clubs promoted from the Championship - are yet to win a league match.

They have taken a combined seven points from those games, which is the joint-second lowest tally from a set of promoted teams since the Premier League began in 1992-93.

Only last season's promoted trio - Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United - have collected fewer points from their first five league matches of a campaign.

The good news - for Leicester and Ipswich, at least - is their three points apiece are enough to keep them out of the relegation zone at the moment.

Statistics collated by BBC Sport statistician Chris Collinson

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester City and Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Andy: I feel like our squad is reasonably strong and some of our players are playing well but I just can't understand Steve Cooper's tactics. I'm not sure what he is trying to achieve. Watching Jordan Ayew trying to beat full-backs is painful. Starting a 33-year-old winger ahead of Abdul Fatawu and Kasey McAteer is baffling, especially when he's up against Ashley Young.

John: Could do better, so the saying goes. Playing too passively and not pressing teams early on - it's as if they are playing away at home games. This emanates from the manager, as does the questionable team selections and tactics. Urgent improvement needed or the worst will happen.

Dino: Pretty poor for most of the game. I don’t think we have an identity. Whether you liked Enzo Maresca's style or not, at least you knew what we were about. We seem to be stuck between styles. Stephy Mavididi was our best player but did get taken off!

James: Once again, it's a combination of too little, too late, and coming out of the starting blocks too slowly. Leicester were very poor in the first half and deserved to be behind. Tactics and substitutions were once again questionable, but still somehow salvaged a point. The Foxes once again showed they can compete, just too inconsistently to survive.

Everton fans

Carl: I just knew Leicester would score. We had chances to put the game to bed but we crumble in the last 20 minutes of games and Sean Dyche's subs are a joke. Too negative of a manager

Tony: We're scoring goals. We're making opportunities - that's progress on last season. We've got a manager with a sense of realism and players that care about the outcome. It's hard for fans who want more - the problem is without having money to buy the club or the ability to play there's not a lot of influence you can bring to bear. I have faith.

Ian: Two points lost. Why take Jesper Lindstrom off for Jack Harrison? That was a defensive move, when we should have been looking for a second. Then, to take Iliman Ndiaye off totally lost our attacking front. At least we got a point. Onwards and upwards.

Chris: We need to start defending better. It's great going in front, but this is the Premier League. If you don't take the other chances when they fall your way and you don't defend properly for 90-plus minutes you are going to get punished. There were one or two positives today, but we need to do much better if we are going to climb up the table.

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been looking for the positives after Steve Cooper's side managed to rescue a draw against "bang average" Everton at King Power Stadium.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast straight after the game, Piper praised "really good" left-winger Stephy Mavididi: "He got his full-back [James Garner] on a booking and was beating him every time he got the ball in the second half. He was taking Garner on with ease and creating chances down that left-hand side.

"But then the manager brought him off - and left Jordan Ayew on down that right-hand side! Ayew does work hard and he put a bit of a shift in, but there was not too much end product and he looked like he was tiring towards the end of the game.

"As soon as you see Abdul Fatawu warming up, you think he is 100% coming on for Ayew but then Steve Cooper took Mavididi off. He was our best player in that second half - so I don't quite understand that."

While pleased by Mavididi's display, Piper was unimpressed generally with the level of performance from Cooper's side.

"Often, if you play like Leicester did in the first half and second half, then you will lose Premier League matches," he said.

"It was only because they came up against another bang-average and often poor side that has had a poor start to the season - I think that was the only reason we got anything from that game.

"I thought that it was a desperately poor football match really. The weather was shocking. The game was poor. It wasn't a great Saturday."

Listen to the full post-match podcast on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Former Leicester winger Matt Piper gives his review of the Foxes' draw with Everton and hear manager Steve Cooper's immediate reaction to the result.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds