James Justin's peculiar double role impacts Leicester City as James Maddison sacrifice possible

James Justin was playing the most peculiar of hybrid roles on Sunday. Look at the Leicester City team sheet and he will be listed as a right-back, but watch the game and it will show he spent a lot of his time playing as a striker.

His tally of three shots was the most in the team, level with Kelechi Iheanacho and James Maddison, while only actual forward Iheanacho had more touches in the box than Justin. His average position was more advanced than that of midfielders Papy Mendy and Youri Tielemans, and more central than Maddison.

Although it is standard these days for full-backs to get forward, they tend to overlap down the flank and get crosses in. Justin, instead, was making runs straight into the penalty area.

Playing that way could make a real difference to City’s attacks. The opposition are rarely prepared to defend against a player who is bombing into the box from so far deep. Wingers don’t tend to track back that far.

But there is also a balance to get right. Feeding Yoane Wissa down the left side was Brentford’s best route to goal for much of Sunday’s fixture simply because he had the space to work with, space that would ordinarily be filled by a right-back.

Tielemans had to take on extra responsibilities to cover the hole left behind by Justin, meaning he was not in a position to play the intricate passes around the box that may have seen City unlock the Bees more often.

So there is a balance to strike with Justin’s charges forward, but it is certainly an intriguing tactic and one City will hope bamboozles their opponents from now until the end of the season.

This was only the second time in the past eight matches that Maddison and Tielemans have started together. The other was at Randers, where Brendan