Leicester City

Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes spoke to BBC Radio Leicester after Saturday's 4-1 defeat by Queens Park Rangers.

"I'm really angry and really disappointed about the first half," he said. "We played below the standards and got punished.

"Credit to QPR, they did really well and it was exactly the kind of game that we knew they like – they were aggressive, they were strong and eager.

"The way we conceded three goals was very poor, and while the fourth one is a fantastic strike we didn't play well in the first half.

"I'm sad for them (supporters) because we want to do well for them and it's hard for us to now get back to Leicester knowing that there were a lot of people who came here to support us, and that's not what we want for them.

"All I can do is try work harder, put in more hours to make sure that the team improves going into the next one, so hopefully on Boxing Day we can have a strong reaction."

Marti Cifuentes takes his Leicester side back to his former club on Saturday (15:00 GMT) having moved up to eighth place in the Championship following a run of seven points from their past three games.

QPR would move above the Foxes with a win at Loftus Road.

• None of the past 11 league meetings between QPR (five wins) and Leicester (six) have been drawn, with the Hoops winning 2-1 last time out in March 2024.

• Leicester have alternated between defeat (three) and victory (three) in their past six away league games against QPR, winning 2-1 on their last visit in October 2023.

• QPR have won their past three home matches in the Championship and will be looking to win four in a row in the same calendar year for the first time since April-September 2017 (four).

• Leicester City have only won five of their past 26 away league games against London sides (D4 L17), while keeping just two clean sheets from these 26. Their most recent away game against a London side in the Championship was a defeat to Millwall in October (0-1).

• Rumarn Burrell has netted nine goals in the Championship this season, and could become the first QPR player to reach double figures for league goals in a single campaign since Andre Gray in 2021-22 (10).

Leicester City still need to be more consistent despite their upturn in form, according to midfielder Oliver Skipp.

The Foxes have taken seven points from their past three games to move up to eighth place in the Championship table, but the 22-year-old admits they still have a lot to work on.

"I don't think anyone is getting carried away, because we know it's only been three games and we're still not where we want and need to be, and we need to keep pushing and improve on so many things," Skipp told BBC Radio Leicester.

"Definitely in the past few games we've started to compete and show what we can do more, and more often throughout games, but we need to be more consistent."

Leicester made an inconsistent start to the season after suffering relegation from the Premier League and Skipp says it has taken time for them to turn things around.

"When you get a few positive results it breeds confidence - we've started games much better, which also helps - 3-0 up at Derby, 2-0 up against Ipswich - whereas previously we'd started a bit slowly and you're always chasing the game, which can be difficult," he said

"There's loads of senior players (at the club) that have been through so many different situations and you lean on them, you lean on the management staff. Everyone just pulls together.

"There's no point in hiding and running away from the situation; we looked to stand up and be counted."

Leicester visit QPR in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

John Bennett
BBC Final Score reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

We all have a list in our heads of the best goals we've ever seen live.

Two of my top five have now been scored at the King Power Stadium.

Way back in 2006 Joey Gudjonsson scored against Hull City from the halfway line for Leicester.

I never thought I'd see a goal scored from a greater distance, let alone at the same ground, but Abdul Fatawu's wonder strike was from a good 10 or even 15 yards further away.

It was an incredible effort and took brilliant quick thinking from the Ghanaian to spot Ipswich keeper Christian Walton way off his line.

After the game, manager Marti Cifuentes said it was something Fatawu tries very often at the training ground and he came close to scoring a similar goal at Swansea, so it's obviously something he's been thinking about for a while.

The goal lit up what felt like a significant victory for Leicester, Cifuentes calling it a "huge win" and "an important step forward".

With players like Fatawu - and Bobby De Cordova-Reid who also scored a cracking goal - hitting their stride, Leicester can suddenly look forward to the vital Christmas run of games with a huge amount of confidence.

And opposition keepers will be well advised to stay on their line...

Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes finally had reasons to smile as Abdul Fatawu scored from inside his own half in their huge 3-1 home win over Ipswich.

Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester: "It's a huge win and the performance was really strong.

"We scored fantastic goals, but we played at a high level.

"The first one helped us to start the game with a positive feeling, which is important. I'm very happy for Bobby [De Cordova-Reid] who is showing how important he is to the team.

"This moment of brilliance and quality from Abdul - it's a fantastic goal. It's one of those, which is very special, and I'm happy for him because he's a good boy who works hard and is improving all the time.

"At the end we cannot forget the things we need to improve, but the way we responded (from Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Bristol City) was important."

Image source, Opta

Stuttering Leicester need to pick up some form soon if they are to live up to their expectations of making a push for promotion.

They'll be looking to bounce back on Saturday against Ipswich (15:00 GMT) after squandering a two-goal lead in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Bristol City.

In-form Ipswich are unbeaten in their past three games and could make it three wins on the spin if they claim three points at the King Power Stadium.

Kieran McKenna's side, who sit fourth in the Championship, have tasted defeat just once across their past 10 matches (W6 D3).

• Leicester City are unbeaten in their last six league games against Ipswich Town (W3 D3) since a 1-0 defeat back in March 2013 under Nigel Pearson.

• Ipswich are winless in their last 11 away league matches against Leicester (D5 L6) since winning 2-1 on Boxing Day in 2002.

• Leicester lost their last home league game, going down 3-2 to Sheffield United – they last suffered consecutive home Championship defeats in March 2024, with the second of those defeats coming against Martí Cifuentes when he was QPR manager.

• Ipswich Town have picked up 10 points in their last five away league games (W3 D1 L1), more than in their previous 15 games on the road combined (9).

• Leicester have lost nine home league games in 2025 – only twice before have they lost more: 10 in both 1914 and 2007.

Image source, PA Media

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says it is hard to acclimatise to the Championship again after relegation from the Premier League.

The Tractor Boys visit Leicester City on Saturday (15:00 GMT) for a meeting between two sides who dropped down from the top flight last season.

Town are fourth - five points off the automatic promotion spots - but the Foxes have endured an inconsistent season so far and sit 13th, three points back from the play-off places.

"It's probably different for different clubs but it is difficult and especially if you don't get off to a good start and you can't get that momentum and turn it around if you're coming off a losing season," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"Trying to get that turned around is certainly not easy. You've seen all different things over the years. You've seen teams get off to a good start then everyone is happy and things push on.

"You've seen Luton compete in the Premier League and then get relegated straight through [to League One]. And then you've seen everything in-between over the last decade.

"It's certainly a challenge and turning around momentum in all aspects from the season before is difficult and that's what we're still fighting to do here."

McKenna says Leicester are "probably not happy with where they are and it's not gone as well as they would've liked".

However, he is still expecting a difficult game and says it will take a "big performance" to pick up all three points.

"It's of course a challenge coming down from the Premier League," McKenna added.

"Still when I watch them, they're very often the better footballing side in a game. They play very well through the pitch and play some good football.

"They still have really good players. I think Marti [Cifuentes] is a really good coach. He did a really good job at QPR, certainly when we faced him in the Championship last time around, I thought they were really well-organised."

Listen to McKenna's pre-match interview in full on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City manager Marti Cifuentes spoke to BBC Radio Leicester after Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Bristol City.

"We come to every game with the intention to get the three points, so it's always disappointing not to get those, especially after a very good first half," he said.

"I think we did so well, we understood really well that Bristol City are a team that likes to press really high, that likes man-to-man situations and we understood where the space was and how to exploit it.

"Then obviously when you are 2-0 up we spoke at half-time about the need to score the third one and to not drop, and to understand that they would push from the very beginning.

"Then it's very disappointing to concede a goal in less than one minute. So probably the impact of this goal was too much. We needed to control the second half and the scenario better because we were still in the lead, but it's obviously disappointing to get only one point from this."

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City will be without forward Patson Daka until the new year after he was called up to the Zambia squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The 27-year-old is part of head coach Moses Sichone's 28-man squad as they look to win the tournament for just the second time having lifted the trophy in 2012.

Daka has managed just one goal so far this season for Leicester, who are 14th in the Championship before Wednesday's game at Bristol City.

Zambia open their Afcon campaign against Mali on 22 December before completing the group stage against Comoros (26 December) and hosts Morocco (29 December).

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes has emphasised the importance of putting together a good run of results after the impressive 3-1 win at Derby County.

The Foxes bounced back from two consecutive defeats with victory at Pride Park to start to ease the pressure on Cifuentes.

A congested Championship table means Leicester are currently 14th but only three points off the play-off places.

"I think it's important in this league to build some kind of momentum," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester ahead of the trip to seventh-placed Bristol City on Wednesday night (kick-off 19:45 GMT).

"We know it's going to be a difficult game again because it's another game away against a team that has started the season really well.

"Again in a style that is much about a lot of pressing, a lot of counter-pressing. They are very clear on their identity.

"We know where we are, we know how much we want to improve but again, we need to keep building on what we saw [against Derby].

"A lot of things I really liked and then we go again, being humble but understanding that every game is so important."

Listen to all latest Leicester City interviews and shows on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

Image source, Opta

There's a big game at Ashton Gate on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) as Leicester City head to Bristol City looking for back-to-back wins to climb towards the play-off places.

After a 3-1 win in the East Midlands derby at Derby on Saturday the Foxes lie 14th, but could overhaul the seventh-placed Robins with a win, so tightly-packed is the middle of the Championship table.

Inconsistent Bristol City went down 1-0 at home to Millwall on Saturday for a second defeat in three games and have now lost two of their past three at Ashton Gate without scoring.

• Bristol City have won three of their past four home league games against Leicester (L1), as many as they had in their previous 14 between 1921 and 2010 (D5 L6).

• Leicester have won three of their past four league games against Bristol City, though did lose their last meeting 1-0 at Ashton Gate in March 2024.

• Bristol City have lost their past two midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (v Blackburn and Wrexham), as many as they had in their previous 15 (W6 D7).

• Leicester are winless in their past eight midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (D2 L6), alternating between a draw and a defeat in their four Championship games this season.

• Leicester manager Martí Cifuentes has never lost in four league meetings with Bristol City, though three of those have ended level (W1).

Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes spoke to BBC Sport after Saturday's 3-1 win at Derby County.

"Pressure is part of the job, right? This is never about me, it's about the club, the fans and trying to do the best we can," he told BBC Sport.

"I said from day one, I was very honest, that this will be a rebuilding process, that it could take some time and the target is clear [promotion to the Premier League] because of the size of the club.

"It definitely has not been an easy week, or the last couple of weeks have not been easy, more because of the disappointment of the way we lost games and the way we performed.

"And it's not about me, I'm very aware of what my job is and what my task is and that is what I work for every day.

"The first half was very good, and perhaps we could have scored even more goals, and that's a lot to say after being 3-0 up at half-time against a good team.

"It's easy for me to sit here now after a win like this to say 'that's exactly what we want'. But football is a challenge every week and we will play every game against teams that are well coached, and well prepared and I understand that we always want to perform at this level."