Stalemate At King Power Stadium
Claude Puel made five changes to the side that faced Burnley on Saturday, with Ben Hamer, Aleksandar Dragović, Marc Albrighton, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho replacing Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Danny Simpson, Hamza Choudhury and Shinji Okazaki.
On top from the off, the Foxes had their first major opportunity of the game as Alex McCarthy got down low to get hold an effort from Riyad Mahrez.
Shortly after, Iheanacho nearly bent a strike into the bottom corner at the second time of asking, while at the other end, Dusan Tadic fired off target for the Saints.
A lovely phase of play followed from City, but Adrien Silva could not round it off – the Portugal international seeing his 25-yard shot blocked in the area.
After the break, Hamer had to pull off a brilliant front-post stop to ensure City didn’t fall behind, as the 30-year-old ‘keeper spread himself well to deny Shane Long.
City’s best chance of the second half fell to Jamie Vardy, who skippered the team. A superb long pass from Albrighton found the No.9, who nearly replicated his strike against West Bromwich Albion last month, but McCarthy stood in his way.
The introduction of attacker Fousseni Diabaté proved to be a positive one for Puel’s men, as he drilled into the side-netting following a darting run down the left wing late on.
Academy graduates Hamza Choudhury and Harvey Barnes – the latter making his Premier League debut for the Club – came on in injury time and while Barnes came close to connecting with a Ben Chilwell cross, there would be no breakthrough on Filbert Way.
Major moment
City without doubt created enough opportunities to earn three points, but they came up against a well-organised defensive line.
Southampton, meanwhile, were aiming to hit the Foxes on the break and did so just before the hour mark. Thankfully, Ben Hamer, untested for long periods, pulled off a fine save at the near post to turn away Shane Long’s effort.
Who impressed?
In past games, Marc Albrighton has had cameo roles at right back. However, playing 90 minutes in an unfamiliar position – just as he did on Thursday evening – is not an easy task.
Tough in the tackle and a threat going forward, Albrighton did not look out of place against the likes of Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond.
Where do we stand?
Leicester’s draw with Southampton means they remain in eighth position after 34 games, two points above Everton in ninth and eight points behind seventh-placed Burnley.
Coming up…
A trip to Selhurst Park follows on Saturday 28 April as the Foxes take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace.