"We’ve beaten Chelsea before” – Leicester City star feeling 'positive' ahead of Premier League clash
When Leicester City face Chelsea over the weekend, they’ll be optimistic about ending Chelsea's eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions. That's according to Leicester defender Ricardo Pereira.
The Foxes are placed 12th in the table, 11 points behind early leaders Chelsea. Leicester City have been quite impressive over the last two seasons, finishing fifth in both and edging out traditionally bigger clubs like Arsenal and Spurs.
However, Leicester's recent form has been a cause for concern. Coming into the match on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers' team have lost four games this season already.
They have also struggled against London-based teams. They were beaten comprehensively by West Ham at the London Stadium on August 23, and narrowly edged out Bretford 2-1 before losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal.
Leiceister unfazed by a strong Chelsea challenge
But there is no reason to be alarmed, according to Ricardo as quoted by Leicester City’s official magazine. And though he admits that emerging victorious over the reigning Champions League winners is likely to be an uphill task, he’s positive it can be done.
“We know it’s going to be very tough. They are showing great qualities this year and deservedly sit at the top of the league. Chelsea are always a difficult team to play, but especially at the moment with the momentum and quality they have", said Pereira.
Great spirit and hard work from everybody to get the 3 points 💙💪🏾
Thank to all the fans for the support 🦊 #lcfc #premierleague #baicucoragifitchado https://t.co/40iL7MFKsU
The Portuguese full-back continued:
“They have good players, a top coach, and we’ll have to be at our very best to get the win. We focus on ourselves. If we’re at our best, then we have a great chance of winning. We’ve beaten Chelsea before, so we know we have the ability. We always look at our opposition and this game is no different, but it’s so important to focus on ourselves. We’ll be going into the game with a positive mindset.”
Leicester boss responds to transfer speculation
Elsewhere, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has responded to rumours linking him to Manchester United's hot seat.
Xisco Munoz (Watford) and Steve Bruce (Newcastle) were both shown the door on October 3, 2021 and October 20, 2021 respectively. Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham), Daniel Farke (Norwich City), and Dean Smith (Aston Villa) were also relieved of their duties in the first week of November.
Bookmakers have now placed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the next favorite to face the sack. Rodgers has been tipped to replace the embattled Manchester United manager several times, but he has now moved to quash any talk of leaving his current position.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Chelsea game, the Leicester City chief addressed the rumours:
"There's two things. Firstly, it's really disrespectful for you to ask the question when you have a manager in place, a good manager and a good man, who is working for the club," Rodgers said.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers on Man United rumours: “It’s really disrespectful for you to ask the question when you have a good manager and a good man who is working at the club. Secondly, I can’t comment on it because it’s something that's not real”. 🔴 #MUFC #LCFC https://t.co/6T8k8VjcWw
He continued:
"Secondly, I can't really comment on it because it is something that is not real. I am here as the Leicester City manager. I'm proud to be here, privileged to be here and fully committed to the players, the club, the ownership."
"That's about it really. All the other noise around that is something that we can't control. I've focused, like I have done in my career, so the only club I'm thinking about is Chelsea and getting ready for that."
Leicester City players will be keen not to let such distractions affect their preparations for the important match on Saturday.