Maddison 'respect', Vardy absence, Champions League battle – what Lampard said on Leicester City

Everton boss Frank Lampard has "a lot of respect" for James Maddison as he looks to stop the Leicester City midfielder stretching his lead as the club’s top goalscorer.

Maddison’s finish at PSV Eindhoven last week was his 14th of the campaign, meaning he currently holds a title that regularly went to Lampard during his playing days: leading English midfield goalscorer. In all, only strikers Harry Kane and Tammy Abraham, and winger Jarrod Bowen, have scored more among English players than Maddison.

After only appearing as a substitute against Newcastle, Lampard is expecting Maddison to go back into City’s starting line-up at Goodison Park on Wednesday. The Toffees boss knows he has to be wary of his talents, with Everton keen to boost their three-point cushion to the drop zone.

“James Maddison is a fantastic player,” Lampard said at his press conference on Tuesday. “He has great ability levels. He’s a clever, smart player in high areas of the pitch, he makes good assists, can finish, he is great at dead-ball situations. I have a lot of respect for him.

“But there are others that can really cause us problems, so we have to be aware of their threats. It’s a squad that’s been built, it’s a squad of good players, it’s a squad with a really good coaching staff. I saw the changes at the weekend and you analyse the players that didn’t start that game who probably will start our game, then you can see that it’s a really strong squad.”

Maddison has been able to take the lead as City’s top goalscorer because of injuries to Jamie Vardy, the number nine playing just twice this calendar year because of a hamstring issue and now a knee problem. But Lampard does not need reminding that City are not a one-man or even two-man team,