Southampton are the visitors on Filbert Way for a 3pm BST kick-off on matchweek three in the new Premier League season. The Foxes have one point from two games so far, drawing 2-2 with Brentford at home on the opening weekend, before a 4-2 reverse at Arsenal seven days ago.
Rodgers admits he's disappointed not to have a first win on the board already, especially considering City led by two against Brentford, while the timing of the goals at Emirates Stadium were also frustrating. Speaking on Thursday, the manager addressed a number of topics, starting with an analysis of that clash with the Gunners...
Conceding after scoring – Learning from Arsenal
Although Leicester netted twice in the capital last weekend, conceding almost immediately after both goals denied them the chance to put Arsenal under pressure. Each goal restored a two-goal cushion for Mikel Arteta's home side, keeping City at bay throughout the 90 minutes.
"I said afterwards that it was a mixed bag," Rodgers said in reflection, inside the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground. "We had some good moments in the game. We could have gone in front in the opening five minutes, but we didn’t, and then I think the timing of the goals really hurt us last week.
"There’s no doubt that Arsenal deserved to win, but we could have made it a much closer scoreline and made them a little bit more nervous than we did. We have to come away, learn from that, and manage the game better. We need to look to not make mistakes in the game. We know we can score goals.
"There’s also managing the ball. The last goal came from us giving away the football. It’s something, with the team, which is a constant message.
"We don’t always have to put the ball at risk. You don’t always have to finish the action on the first attack. When I talk about experience of players, conserving the ball in the right moments is about having game experience. That’s something we can definitely do better and that’s part of managing the game."
Last season, notably against Leeds United and Manchester United, it was the Foxes who hit back after conceding with a goal of their own. Being on the opposite end this time around, however, stopped them from being able to put pressure on the hosts and rescue a point in north London.
Cutting out those errors is now top of the agenda for Rodgers: "It can happen in football. Especially after you score, if you look at it, it’s the most vulnerable time in a game. We’ve worked it the other way. We scored a number of goals like that last season.
"Sometimes as a team, you’re at your most vulnerable when you’ve scored. It’s difficult when you’re team that has just scored and got yourself back into the game, sometimes it’s mistakes, which is a part of the game also.
"When we got to 2-1, we were in good shape, looked comfortable, but unfortunately we conceded the third goal, which broke the momentum a little bit. The players fought back really well, they got back into it at 3-2, and then it sets you up really well.
"It was a period in the game we’d highlighted beforehand, that final half an hour, if we were in the game, we’d have a great opportunity to get a result. But we then gave the ball away and, at the highest level, you can get punished by very good players.
"The idea is to show we have learned in our next game and manage the situation better."
Quality and intensity – Counteracting the Saints
Although City's recent form against Southampton is admirable, the Saints are often a tough opponent for Rodgers' men. There are notable exceptions, including a final-day 4-1 win last season, but home matches against Southampton tend to be tight affairs.
"It’s always a difficult game against Southampton," Rodgers explained. "We had a good scoreline at the end of last season, but they’ve made some new signings and have freshness in the squad. Obviously, they showed their spirit last week, when they came back from being behind at home.
"We expect a tough game, but the onus is on us. We played 60-odd minutes of our last home game to a good level. We ended up giving away the points. Two weeks further along, we want to show that improvement.
"We want to play with the same quality and intensity, but manage the game and hopefully take three points."
Giving the fans reason to cheer – Returning to the basics
It's now time, Rodgers says, for Leicester to show what they're made of – returning to the style of football which earned them plaudits over recent seasons. Intensity, aggression and pressure are all cornerstones of that playing style and the former Liverpool and Celtic manager has called for their return.
"I want to see us back playing with that intensity and that aggression and that pressure that has defined us," he said. "That is something that we’ve been very, very good at. That’s our game. We’ll be judged this year on that, on our intensity in how we play, and the aggression.
"If we can play to that level that we have shown we can get good results consistently. That was the message after the game last week: it was a mixed bag, but let’s go and get the first win. That’s always important. The longer you leave that, it can become a little difficult for you.
"We should have won already, we didn’t, so now we’ve got a great chance at home with a really good atmosphere in the stadium… it’s up to us to get the team playing to that level which gets the crowd up and we know, if we can do that, we’ll hopefully have a good day."