Leicester City

Pride Park will want to see an emphatic win for their Derby County side when Leicester City come to visit on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Though technically an East Midlands derby, the rivalry between the Rams and the Foxes has as much to do with history as it does location.

Over the past two decades, Derby have only managed three wins out of their last 17 meetings while Leicester have won nine of the past 11 - plus a First Division play-off win in 1994 that still carries a sting.

However, the visitors are struggling this season and it could be a good time for the hosts to claim their first victory over the Foxes since March 2013.

• Derby have lost seven of their last eight league games against Leicester (W1), with this the first between the sides since a 4-1 win for the Foxes in January 2014.

• This is Leicester's first away league game against Derby since a 1-0 win in August 2013. They've won three of their last four league visits to Pride Park (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory.

• Derby County have lost two of their last three league games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (W6 D5).

• Leicester have lost five of their last eight Championship games (W2 D1), with only Swansea, Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday losing more than the Foxes since the first game in this run on 21st October (6 each).

• Derby have had fewer shots (155) and fewer shots on target (51) than any other Championship side this season, while also having the second lowest expected goals total (17.4). Despite this, only seven clubs have scored more goals than the Rams this term (25).

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

Wow, just wow.

Just when you think you can't sink any lower, the players go and put in a performance like that first 45 minutes against Sheffield United.

For fans of Scooby Doo, will we pull off Marti Cifuentes' mask and find it's Ruud van Nistelrooy underneath all along?

Here is a guy who, if he looked at our record last season, would see that we lost 17 consecutive matches playing 4-2-3-1, and yet here he is starting with it every week.

Cifuentes said the second half was more like he wanted to play, so why not start with those players and formation? Sheffield United were rocking.

We dithered over Brendan Rodgers and it cost us. We acted too soon over Steve Cooper and it cost us. We completely messed up with Van Nistelrooy and, well, you know the rest.

Make the decision now. In my opinion, Cifuentes has to go before we hit the January transfer window.

As for the players. They have just not been good enough.

Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Harry Winks, Boubakary Soumare, Ricardo Pereira, to name a few, it's time to move them on.

If the youngsters had been played earlier in the season we would not have the situation like Olabade Aluko starting against Southampton, getting sent off and looking like a rabbit in headlights.

Where are the leaders in this squad? I don't see them. And we have a captain that can't play every game.

Surely things can't get worse? But, as Mick McCarthy would say, "it can".

Marti you don't seem to have a clue, the players have been an embarrassment, and the ownership needs to take accountability. Top, your interview earlier this month was too little too late.

Foxes never quit? This bunch need to prove they haven't.

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The call went out for Leicester City supporters to share their thoughts on the future of under-pressure manager Marti Cifuentes after Saturday's defeat by Sheffield United.

The responses were numerous and opinions were split, as plenty of fans see issues that the Foxes are facing now - from the legal battle over alleged spending rule breaches, and the make-up of the squad - to be beyond the Spaniard's control.

Here is a selection of what they had to say...

Ross: The problems go far deeper than Cifuentes. There are structural and management problems. The club can't attract the top talent due to looming financial and points penalties. We've been through multiple managers in the past year and nothing has changed. What will another sacking and payout achieve other than put us even further into the hole financially and leadership wise. Management is the problem, some of the players are the problem, yes, the manager is a problem, but what other options do we have right now?

Stephen: First-half performance was shocking, makes me wonder what they do on the training ground every week? They looked like they've never played as a team. Second half was better but it couldn't be any worse. The manager just rolls out the same old 'not acceptable at this level' etc. Just as Brendan Rogers did. I hope the chairman has learnt from that and doesn't leave it too late for someone new to try and turn things around. A recognised goalscorer is a must in January.

Russell: The lesson of the past four years of sacking managers is that it does not change anything. As a club we need to focus on weeding out the rest of the overpaid players and rebuilding from the bottom up. We need to have enough points to stay in this league with or without a points deduction, and plan for a promotion push in at least two years' time. Anything else is totally unrealistic.

Andrew: It's a poison chalice; the result of a number of years of decline and failure to address issues from 'Top' down. Big changes needed across many levels but I fear there isn't the ruthless business streak in the hierarchy to push the big red button…

Joe: I'm not saying he's doing great but he's taken over a team which has disillusioned fans, an unbalanced squad which completely lacks in confidence, and a board that has consistently made mistakes for around five years, and the cherry on top, no funds to make any meaningful changes. I'd rather we keep him and spend money on the squad rather than compensation on another manager.

Ben: Marti has to go. One dimensional, backwards, boring football. Why does every manager have to play tiki-taka football. You're not Pep. We need a forward-thinking manager with fresh and different ideas. Also someone to get at these players as they're low on confidence.

Dan: Marti inherited a squad short of leaders and short of quality. Unfortunately, his coaching seems to have taken us backwards. Relying on speculative shots. Not creating good chances. Shambolic defending. We are sleepwalking into a relegation dogfight. Thanks for the initial hope, time to move on.

Keith: I have been following the fortunes of LCFC since 1949 but have never seen such an abject performance as in the first half on Saturday. It was clear that Sheffield United were up to the challenge, but we were not. That is dependent on the motivation of the team from the outset, and so it is down to the manager. Either that, or the players are not listening, or not pulling their weight individually. They are paid a huge amount after all. Perhaps too much!

Damien: We need to look at the players first then assess the manager .... fantastic training facilities seems to be delivering a holiday camp mentality which is leading to no fight or bite on game days. We need a clear-out and a change of culture. We need to start with our defence! Then our defensive midfield. Then our lack of a number 9. Most of these issues have been present since Brendan Rodgers ... assess Marti when everything else is fixed.

Will: There are bigger problems at this club than the manager. At least with Marti we have someone who wants to be here - he paid his way to come and his engagement has been spot on so far. The board and players have contributed to our current standing too - sacking the manager doesn't change that.

Kevin: I do sympathise with Cifuentes - half a pre-season, no money. Inherited a mediocre squad with low morale, many of which clearly don't want to be here. I fear the situation won't improve until the end of the season. Get rid of those whose contracts have expired (silly wages) and hopefully that will fund a few solid signings. Plus the promising youngsters we do have will be another year older and closer to being ready. I just hope with a deduction looming we're still in the Championship, I am confident we will be.

John: Cifuentes inherited a squad full of Premier League players. He is clearly out of his depth. Poor selections and a team that looks disinterested and unmotivated on the pitch. That's down to the manager and he has to go!

Paul: Who would you replace him with? No-one would want the job. No money available. Points deduction coming soon. Get rid of players that don't want to be here.

Tugger: 16th approaching Xmas for a team relegated from the Premiership in the previous season is unacceptable. There doesn't appear to be a system or any cohesion between the players. We are playing 'back' football and there is no penetration, often losing the ball out wide. I'm one for sticking with managers but we need a change I'm afraid. I can only see us finishing above the relegation zone at this stage, which is unacceptable for a club of our size.

Tony: You cannot blame the manager in my opinion. He was dealt a duff hand when he took over. Took over far too late pre-season. The players are clearly not interested. Get rid of the deadwood. And there's an awful lot of it. A majority of the team are not fit to wear the shirt. Having said that, the board need sorting out. Big style. We are falling apart at the seams.

Peter: As starts go, the game on Saturday was probably the worst I can remember in 50 years of watching LCFC and sums up the lack of direction and muddled thinking of the club since the departure of Enzo Maresca. I want Cifuentes to succeed rather than see him dismissed as I think that would be a backward step, although he needs to stop picking players that simply don't want to be at the club. The apathy they show is clear for all to see. We spent vast sums of money building a training centre to attract the best young talent, start using some of that talent now. The fans will back them, but they won't keep backing the players that obviously don't care.

Melvyn: Mismanagement at board level. Poor investment in second-rate journeymen on overlong contracts that under perform. Failure to sell players approaching the end of contracts ... the list is endless. Time for a root-and-branch change.

Toby: He obviously can't stay, but the problem isn't JUST the manager. Our problems involve the board, the staff and, most importantly, the players. We are in a hole that only time will repair, and these players have way too much complacency and ego to listen to any manager. The best a new manager can do is keep us in the Championship, but if we want to even think about pushing further, we need a much bigger change.

Lindsay: We should have got Chris Wilder when we were recruiting our new manager. He is a more proven manager and has turned around Sheffield United in a short time.

Colin: Cifuentes must be backed and I mean backed by the board, squad and fans at least for another 12 months. The club has been in demise for several years, everyone needs to recognise that it will take time for a real and lasting change to take place.

Nigel: Sacking the manager will achieve nothing. We've already sacked two managers and where has that got us? Unfortunately, the players are obviously mentally fragile. I don't think the fans are helping, it's alright getting behind the team as they did in the second half against Sheffield United, but they don't need boos for a perfectly reasonable back pass as has been happening recently. Some fans have short memories. As for criticising Top, I can't believe some people. It's not so long ago we were going bust, not to mention all the money put into the community.

Steve: Through incompetence and mismanagement, including disastrous signings/contracts, we've gone from pushing for the Champions League to fighting relegation in the Championship in just five years. The manager's got an almost impossible job, but this squad should still be performing better than it is. We don't need a new manager — we need new owners.

Leicester City slipped to 16th in the Championship after an abject first-half performance led to Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Sheffield United at the King Power Stadium.

Chants of 'sacked in the morning' were directed at manager Marti Cifuentes.

As for the boos that echoed around the ground at half-time, well the Spaniard feels they were merited.

But with the threat of a points deduction hanging over the club for alleged breaches of spending rules, is Cifuentes in an impossible position right now?

BBC Sport reporter Andrew Aloia asked Cifuentes about what it feels like battling for points that Leicester are not sure they will keep, and he responded by saying his focus must remains "100% on trying to win the next game".

Anything else, he added, would be a waste of "energy" as Leicester have lawyers to deal with that.

So what do you, Leicester fans, think of what is happening at the club right now?

Can you see Cifuentes heading for the exit? Is the legal battle a distraction? What needs to change to get the Foxes' season back on track?

Have your say - and we will publish a selection of the best submissions sent in.

Leicester City head coach Marti Cifuentes spoke to BBC Radio Leicester after Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Sheffield United.

"It was below any standard, far from the standards that I want to set for the club," he said.

"It was extremely disappointing how we spoke over the last couple of days about reacting strong after what happened on Tuesday, about the importance of starting on the front foot the first 15 or 20 minutes at home, at our place, and we did just the opposite.

"It was just embarrassing to see some of the mistakes and it was below any kind of standards. It's very frustrating.

"The main thing that was in my mind [at 2-0 down after four minutes] was that this is not the reaction we had been working on to show to our fans.

"It was very important to get them on board in the first minutes, to show them that what happened on Tuesday was an accident, and again I think was very disappointing to concede another two goals from set plays. But in the first four minutes to go 2-0 down is simply unacceptable."

Marti Cifuentes has highlighted the importance of Leicester looking inwards amid a tight Championship table at this stage in the season.

The Foxes boss told BBC Radio Leicester: "I think the most important thing is to focus on ourselves.

"Obviously, the position in the table, it helps to understand where you are in terms of performances but when you see how tight, how competitive it is in this division, you understand that small edges are so important."

Leicester currently sit 15th in the Championship with 24 points from 17 games but a win against Sheffield United on Saturday could close the gap to the sides currently occupying the play-off spots.

Cifuentes continued: "It's very important again to look at ourselves, how we can improve our level during the games, how we can pick up that consistency during the games and from game to game.

"That's where my focus is because... we don't want the difference at the top of table and us to increase. Just the opposite. But at the same time for me the most important thing is to make sure the team improves then I know that this will reflect on the table."

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Leicester City defender Caleb Okoli has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury.

The 24-year-old Italian last featured for the Foxes in the 2-1 win at Norwich City before the international break.

The club had hoped to have him back in the short-term, but scans have revealed that Okoli now faces an extended period out.

"We were waiting for some tests to get an answer when he could be ready, but unfortunately those tests came back with news that he will be away for few weeks with a knee injury," Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester.

"That is where we are at the moment. It's difficult to say if he will be available before or after Christmas, but it will be around that."

Cifuentes also said Jakub Stolarczyk could be brought back into the squad for Saturday's game against Sheffield United after a spell out with a groin injury.

"He has been feeling better," Cifuentes said. "We're going to have a discussion and make the decision."

Both Leicester City and Sheffield United will be vying for a much needed ascent up the table when they meet at the King Power Stadium on Saturday (12:30 GMT)

Not many would have expected the two teams to be lingering at the bottom half of the table at the start of the season but while fortunes seem to be abandoning one, the other appears to finally be seeing some light.

The Blades have dragged themselves out of the bottom three following two successive 3-0 wins and will be hoping their season has finally kicked into gear.

Whereas Leicester succumbed to a difficult 3-0 defeat to Southampton last time out and are awaiting news of a possible points deduction that would make a promotion push even tougher.

• Leicester City are unbeaten in each of their last eight league games against Sheffield United (W6 D2), winning the last five in a row.

• Sheffield United have won just one of their last eight away league games against Leicester City (D2 L5), with this their first visit since a 5-0 loss in March 2021.

• Leicester have lost just one of their last 10 home league games (W5 D4), with no side in the Championship this season drawing more home games than the Foxes (4).

• After beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-0, Sheffield United are looking to record successive away league wins for the first time since March last season (run of six).

• Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has lost all three of his managerial league games against Leicester, all in the Premier League from August 2019 to December 2020. He has only faced Liverpool (6), Man City (5), and Southampton (5) more without ever avoiding defeat in his career as a manager in the top four tiers.

Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes says there is "no hiding" after his side were convincingly beaten 3-0 at Southampton on Tuesday night.

"It's a disappointing night, both the result and performance," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester.

"The first goal had too much impact. It doesn't matter that it's a clear offside, we didn't react well after that.

"I am disappointed because it is not what we wanted to offer to our fans. It's not easy to come here, it's a long trip. We wanted to give them something else in terms of the performance and points.

"We're going to try again on Saturday [against Sheffield United]. There is no hiding when you have such a performance, you need to look at yourself, be very critical and analyse what went wrong."

The Foxes played almost an hour with 10 men after teenager Olabade Aluko was sent off after 33 minutes on his first league start for the club.

Cifuentes added: "He [Aluko] will be stronger after this, we will be here to help him. I am sure he will be a good player for us. I trust him, he has been playing well for us and we think he's a very good player."

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City forward Kian Pennant has extended his loan spell with National League side Gateshead until the end of December.

Pennant, 21, moved to Tyneside last month and has already played seven games for the Heed.

Kate Blakemore
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Somehow, after a really disappointing and stuttering start, Leicester find themselves only one point off the play-offs after victory against an in-form Stoke at the weekend.

We were able to capitalise on two loose passes from the visitors, with Patson Daka amongst the scorers to finally break his duck after almost a 12-month absence from the scoresheet.

The stats weren't pretty though. Two big chances, two shots on targets, two goals and Stoke were arguably the better side. Converting 100% of our chances is obviously an exception to the rule and adds pressure to a team that fails to create enough.

We had some periods of progressive play and seemed more eager to look for the forward pass rather than the easy backpass, which is encouraging.

However, with Asmir Begovic winning man of the match, it shows that our defensive frailty remains and continues to blight our game and spike the blood pressure of the fans.

Leicester take a lot more risks defensively than we do going forwards, which is the result of deep-rooted habits from yesteryear.

Habits are created with a persistent drive to change that is eventually rewarded and I hope that the players can sense that. The only way to change things though is through practice - and as luck would have it, we have Southampton on Tuesday night and Sheffield United on Saturday(!).

The fixture list offers little respite now and Leicester need to build on this slight hint of a good run to give themselves the best chance this season.

A possible points deduction remains the wolf at the door and with things being so congested in the table at the moment, it is more important than ever to try and negate the fallout from this as much as possible.

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Southampton will look to continue their marvellous winning run under interim boss Tonda Eckert as they host fellow relegated side Leicester City on Tuesday (20:00 GMT).

The Saints had only won two of their 13 games under previous boss Will Still before Eckert took charge, winning all three of their matches under the German to make a strong impression on fans.

However, Leicester have took victory in both their previous two league matches to inch closer to the play-offs and won't want to risk being caught by their hosts three points below them.

• Southampton have lost each of their last four league games against Leicester, their longest ever losing run against the Foxes.

• Leicester have lost just one of their last eight away league games against Southampton (W5 D2), going down 1-0 in the Premier League in March 2023.

• Southampton have won fewer home league games than any other ever-present side in the English Football League since the start of last season (3), though they did beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 last time out at St Mary's.

• Having won 2-1 at Norwich in their last away league game, Leicester are looking for back-to-back wins on the road for the first time since February 2024.

• Leicester have conceded the first goal in six of their eight away league games this season, though did come from behind to beat Norwich 2-1 last time out.

Image source, Rex Features

Boss Martin Cifuentes said earning back-to-back Championship wins following an inconsistent start to the season is a huge boost.

"It's an important win, especially because it makes it back-to-back wins," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester after the 2-1 victory over Stoke City.

"To start back after the international break with three points is always a positive for building momentum and trying to build some confidence.

"I'm happy for the fans and for the players, because I know how hard they worked in a game that was not easy.

"What I've seen in the last three games is a team that is working really hard. We need to be humble, the Championship is a difficult league and you need to grind it out sometimes."

Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic insists promotion remains Leicester City's target this season, despite the Foxes' stuttered start to the campaign and looming threat of a points deduction.

Leicester beat Norwich City before the international break to end a five-game winless run.

And now, as the 12th-placed Foxes prepare to host third-placed Stoke on Saturday, the club is also readying itself for legal battle over spending rules and alleged breaches made when the club was promoted to the Premier League as Championship title winners in 2024.

That hearing is reportedly set to begin within days.

Begovic said the issue is for "people above my paygrade to handle", but "the noise" around what it could mean to the club's ambitions is something players need to deal with.

The players, he insists, are focused only on results on the pitch.

"We have to make sure that we are together, we keep believing and keep working hard," Begovic told BBC East Midlands Today.

And when asked if promotion remains the aim, the former Chelsea, Stoke, Bournemouth and Everton goalkeeper said: "Absolutely.

"There is still everything to play for," he continued. "There's still 31 games, so we will make sure that we put in those performances, take it a game at a time and hopefully put a string of wins together and then I think we will be where we need to be."