Leicester v Brentford: Premier League – live

28 mins: It’s not as if Leicester haven’t created chances. They have actually looked decent – if a bit blunt – in the final third.

They are incredibly open, however, in midfield, with little protection for the back four.

GOAL! Leicester 0-2 Brentford (Mbeumo, 27)

25 mins: My emails are still packed with Affleck puns.

Turns out, plenty of players have been relegated more than three times. Hermann Hreidarsson and Nathan Blake (five apiece) hold the record.

24 mins: Coulibaly hasn’t looked shy of making an impact, but his latest effort is wild and way over the Brentford crossbar.

22 mins: Decordova-Reid was relegated from the Premier League with Cardiff, relegated from the Premier League with Fulham and now …

Could he reach an unwanted trio? Has anyone ever done that before? Answers on a postcard please.

21 mins: The difference between these two teams so far is one appears to have a very clear plan and the other … doesn’t.

Brentford stream forward again and Wissa tricks past Okoli to win a free-kick in a decent spot.

19 mins: Leicester try to respond immediately through Vardy, who has looked lively to be fair. His shot forces a corner.

GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Brentford (Wissa, 17)

16 mins: There’s so much space in midfield for both sides – yet neither have found any sort of precision in the final third as yet.

Faes whooshes a loose pass straight out for a Brentford goal-kick.

Alex gets in touch:

Been trying to make a Leicester City Ben Affleck film pun, which has distracted me for the first 10 minutes of the game.

Best I can do is: Craig Shakespeare in Love. Sorry.

14 mins: Damsgaard plays a delightful dink over the top for the on-running Wissa, who goes down under minimal pressure. Leicester’s defence looks paper-thin at the moment.

12 mins: El Khannouss has looked to dictate play for the Foxes early on. Brentford don’t really shaken by this early onslaught from the home side, though, they’re still a threat whenever they go forward.

“As a Leicester fan, scoring a goal at home would be a good start,” says Graham Randall on email. “Beginning to think we might go straight back down.”

The State of Play is certainly worrying for Affleck’s Van Nistelrooy’s side.

9 mins: Tell you what, the broadcasters have just shown a replay of a dicey looking challenge from Coulibaly on Kevin Schade. VAR have given it a look but decided not to intervene … hmm, it could easily have been a penalty. He didn’t get much of the ball.

7 mins: For what it’s worth, I really liked Argo …

Leicester are still attacking, Coulibaly linking up well with Decordova-Reid down the hosts’ right flank.

6 mins: My email inbox is now full of Ben Affleck chat. Not something I could have foreseen for the evening!

This is a real end to end contest so far. Both teams are hungry for an early goal.

4 mins: Signing energetic wing-backs from teams in the lower reaches of Serie A is very much in vogue – at least if you’re a struggling Premier League team right now. Manchester United got Patrick Dorgu and Leicester got Woyo Coulibaly.

Jamie Vardy twists and turns after being played through and forces another save from Flekken. Once again the goalkeeper is up to the challenge.

Good start from Leicester, this!

2 mins: Brentford aren’t pressing super-high in these opening stages, preferring to sit in a mid-block of sorts.

Leicester fashion a chance for new right-back Coulibaly who thrashes it straight at Flekken from an acute angle.

KICK OFF

Some have taken issue with my quoting of a Ben Affleck film.

Karen As’adi says: “Nope we’re not doing that; we’re not quoting Argo like it’s some classic! True we are spending our Friday night following a Leicester match, still we have standards!

Peter Oh asks: “If Ruud van Nistelrooy is Ben Affleck, is Thomas Frank Kevin Bacon?”

In the real world Van Nistelrooy and Thomas Frank have been chatting to Sky Sports before kickoff:

“It’s turning those perf into points,” said the Leicester manager. “Consistency comes on the training pitch. The development is there on the individual players who are getting better, also as a team physically. We know if we continue like this, we can get points. It’s always a balance.”

“I’m very wary it’s going to be very difficult,” said Frank. “Leicester have everything to play for, they’re going to come flying out. No doubt they see us as an opportunity to get points.”

Some of those Argo quotes might be applicable to Ruud and Leicester, come to think of it.

“The best bad idea we have.”

“There are only bad options, it’s about finding the best one.”

Another astute email has dropped in, via Joe Pearson.

Is it just me, or does anybody else think Ruud gives off Ben Affleck vibes? Just asking.

Our other live football offering for the evening is under way. Join Macclesfield-born maestro John Brewin for coverage.

Van Nistelrooy watched on from the stands in November as Leicester surrendered a 1-0 lead at the Gtech Community Stadium and ended up thumped 4-1. The scale of the job facing the Dutchman would have been crystal clear from that day onwards.

Since the four points Leicester accrued in RvN’s first two games following that visit to the Bees, they’ve lost 10 out of 12 games. Eesh.

An email agreeing with me? Yes! It’s from Jeremy Boyce:

As you say, bit of a bonkers match to predict. Can’t win at home v Can’t win away. 0-0 then? Or maybe not, given the way Ruud’s boys ship goals, as well as having a redoubtable and brilliant former carpet-fitter still banging them in when they can give him the ball. I’m betting on an Mbeumo/Wissa inside 2 mins, a late Vardy shouldered equaliser in added time, and lots of huff’n’puff without purpose in between. Should I get down the bookies’ now? Obviously we do not condone gambling and would never put THAT on our shirts. Would we?

Am I naive in predicting that this game will perhaps not the foregone conclusion the form-book suggests? Leicester really need this; like really need this. Brentford aren’t quite on the proverbial beach as yet, but they seem safely ensconced in mid-table and probably won’t trouble the European places.

Van Nistelrooy has looked a little lost in the King Power dugout since replacing Steve Cooper, but if he can’t fire up his troops for a game like tonight’s, he’s in the wrong job.

Some things to read:

Not a record you’d want to have. Not even Amorim’s Manchester United are threatening this one.

Team news

Preamble