Martin could be forced into Braybrooke decision as new signing makes case

Leicester City's start to life in League One continued to go against the script on Saturday as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Burton Albion.

First-half goals from Matthew Dennis and Kegs Chauke inside the first 25 minutes handed the Brewers a head start after a slow start from Russell Martin's men. Wes Burns halved the deficit before half-time, but Oliver Skipp's red card meant City were forced to play over an hour with 10-men.

It leaves Leicester 18th in League One after two games, their lowest-ever league position. There's plenty of work to be done, with two games coming up against Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup and MK Dons.

Here are our talking points from the King Power Stadium as City get more lessons of the reality of the third tier.

Get the best Leicester City news, analysis and more straight to your Inbox!

To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

It was a slow start by Leicester, just like it was at Notts County last week, and they were punished. Dennis' goal in the fifth minute was an early example of the poor defensive shape, with the striker in acres of space and away from Harry Souttar and Caleb Okoli.

But why? "In both boxes, it comes down to a real desire to score and a real desire to defend your goal," Martin said. "And there's lots of details that leads up to that, to be honest.

"The ball shouldn't come to the frontman for the first goal, it comes through us way too easily, and we've done so many sessions on that in pre-season, but it's different energy than you see Monday and Friday, so we have to find a way to really sort that out."

I'm not suggesting he needs a chance to stake a claim for a shirt. So far, the midfielder has been one of City's best players and, even amid the struggles against Burton, he again looked among the better performers.

But City need to move quickly for a new centre-back because the two they've used so far have failed to impress., the No.6 position is free and there's no better time for the academy graduate to get his opportunity in his best role. Naturally a defensive midfielder, Braybrooke has played further forward under Martin so far, but there have already been calls for him to return to his best position.

Hamza Choudhury may have something to say about that and rightly so. When he came on for Liam Cullen in the first half, he was on time with his challenges and passed the ball well. With Skipp out, Choudhury will fancy himself to start the next three.

But dropping Braybrooke deeper has some tempting benefits. Not only would it give him the chance to play in his favoured role, it would open the door for Louis Page to come into the starting XI alongside Cullen or Conor Chaplin, if he's deemed fit, in the attacking midfield slot.

So far, the two positions haven't got going, albeit yesterday was a write-off due to the red card. Chaplin's return to injury should help that, as could Page's inclusion from the off.

Souttar started and captained City for the third straight game, despite having strong interest from Sheffield United. The defender has reportedly informed his club of his desire to leave and Wout Faes isn't being considered.

But with Leicester looking so bad at the back and neither Souttar nor Okoli performing anywhere near the required level, it does raise the question of why When Martin brought three substitutes on Of course, he's not well-liked by fans and hasn't warranted staying, but how is his case different from Souttar's?