Town boss Kieran McKenna is anticipating a great occasion when the Blues face Leicester City at Portman Road in this evening’s live-on-Sky second-v-first clash.
The Blues go into the match aiming to bounce back from Saturday’s chastening 4-0 defeat to third-placed Leeds United - subsequently beaten 2-1 at Preston in Boxing Day's lunchtime kick-off - while the Foxes won 3-0 at home to bottom club Rotherham United.
Leicester are currently six points ahead of Town, have won their last five and are unbeaten in seven.
Like Town, they have lost only three league matches this season - at Middlesbrough and at home to Hull City and Leeds, all 1-0.
Their record on the road in the Championship the season reads won nine, drawn one and lost one.
The Blues and Leicester are now joint-top scorers in the division having netted 47 times apiece during 2023/24 but the Foxes have bagged the most on their travels, 24, nine more than Town, Leeds and Southampton, who have all scored 15 on opposition turf. Leicester have also conceded the fewest goals away from home, 10.
Blues boss McKenna is in no doubt that his side face another huge challenge meeting a second relegated Premier League side within a few days.
"What a game to look forward to,” he said, speaking after the defeat at Leeds. "It’s Boxing Day, we’re at home, a full stadium.
"Of course, a difficult opponent, but we love playing at home, playing at Portman Road is always special for these players, but on Boxing Day it’s always a great occasion and it was last year when we played Oxford [and won 3-0].
"We’ll really look forward to the game, we’ll prepare as well and as professionally as we can and it’s a challenge we’re really looking forward to.”
That Town are facing two sides who were in the Premier League only a few months ago in top-of-the-table Championship clashes shows how far the club has come in the two years since McKenna took over.
"It’s clear to see and it’s apparent we have made a great progression,” the Northern Irishman reflected. "We’re at the halfway point in the season and everyone who is involved with the club is delighted with how the season has gone.
"We’re enjoying all the challenges. Every game in the league is difficult, I have to say.
"I know the next one is Leicester and that’s where our focus will be, and there will be extra noise around it because it’s first-v-second, but we know that QPR on the Friday night’s going to be really difficult and we know that Stoke a couple of days later is going to be really difficult.
"Every game’s a challenge, we’re enjoying taking on each one, it’s going pretty well so far and we’ll try and stay really consistent with what we do, what we believe in, how we are as a group and a club and Leicester’s the next step on that.”
McKenna says what will be another 29,000-plus sell-out Portman Road crowd will have their part to play.
"Certainly, it’s going to be massive,” he said. "To play against Leicester with how good they’ve been, how strong they’ve been, we know it’s going to take every drop of effort that we have in the group.
"But it’s going to need that from the supporters as well. They’ve been fantastic at home, they’ve created a great atmosphere, it’s helped us have a really strong home record and we’re certainly going to need everyone together and everyone all in for Tuesday night.”
McKenna withdrew a number of his regular starters in the second half on Saturday - including skipper Sam Morsy who is still on nine bookings with a 10th leading to a two-match ban - with an eye on today’s match.
Having done that, does he plan to look at utilising his wider squad against the Foxes?
"We’ll see how everyone recovers from today, first and foremost,” he added. "We have a good amount of time between Saturday morning and playing on Tuesday night.
"We’ll look at the game individually and look at what’s the best approach, the best personnel we feel for the game and pick accordingly.”
Given that time and the opponent, McKenna could well look to stick essentially with the side which started at Leeds but perhaps making one or two tweaks to his line-up.
Vaclav Hladky will be in goal with Leif Davis at left-back with Brandon Williams perhaps returning at right-back for Harry Clarke.
At the centre of the defence, Luke Woolfenden will probably come in for Axel Tuanzebe, who is yet to play successive games for the Blues, alongside Cameron Burgess.
Morsy will be in central midfield alongside Massimo Luongo with Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead behind central striker George Hirst.
For Leicester, on-loan Manchester City defender Callum Doyle could return having been out of action for three months due to a knee injury.
However, Jamie Vardy, Kasey McAteer, and Marc Albrighton all remain sidelined and will miss the trip to Portman Road.
"Callum Doyle was out [against Rotherham], not for any reason, just because he’s had some sessions. He’s available. Marc is still injured, Jamie is still injured, and Kasey is still injured. Callum could be involved,” manager Enzo Maresca told LeicestershireLive.
James Justin, who has been at left-back since Doyle suffered his knock, has an injury of his own, which is being managed, and is not expected to play every match over the holiday period.
Town have just had the upper hand historically, winning 27 games between the sides (27 in the league), drawing 18 (17) and losing 26 (24).
The teams last met at the King Power Stadium in February 2014 when David Nugent’s inevitable goal was sandwiched between strikes from Jamie Vardy and future Blues loanee Chris Wood as Championship leaders Leicester comfortably beat Town 3-0.
Vardy opened the scoring in the 19th minute, Nugent added the second on 31 - his 14th goal in 13 games against the Blues and sixth in five for Leicester - and Wood completed the scoring two minutes before the end.
In the previous November, Nugent continued his remarkable goalscoring record against the Blues as Leicester came from behind to beat Town 2-1 at Portman Road.
David McGoldrick put Town in front in the second minute but Nugent — who took his total to 13 goals in 12 matches against the Blues and nine in seven at Portman Road — scored twice in six minutes as the Foxes improved after the break.
Blues striker Hirst signed from Leicester in the summer for £1.5 million following his successful loan spell in the second half of last season. Hirst made only two senior sub appearances for the Foxes having joined them from Belgian side OH Leuven in the summer of 2019.
Boxing Day’s referee is Sam Barrott, who has shown 69 yellow cards and three red in 29 games so far this season.
Barrott was the man in the middle for the 3-2 Carabao Cup victory at home to Wolves in September in which he yellow-carded Elkan Baggott, Lee Evans, Sone Aluko and three of the Premier League side.
He also took charge of the opening Championship fixture at Sunderland, which they won 2-1, in which he dismissed Black Cats right-back Trai Hume for two bookable offences and yellow-carded Morsy, Hladky, Burns and one Wearsider.
Barrott’s last Town game prior to that was as a late replacement for the 6-0 thrashing of Charlton in April after it had emerged that the official originally slated for the game, James Bell, was a fan of Sheffield Wednesday, who at the time were vying with the Blues for League One promotion.
The West Riding-based official showed yellow cards to Davis and four to Addicks, two to Ryan Inness, who was then issued with a red with two minutes left on the clock, his fourth dismissal of the season and fifth in just over a year.
Barrott previously took charge of the 1-1 draw at Cambridge in February in which he awarded the U’s a penalty after George Edmundson had clumsily felled Conor McGrandles, which Christian Walton saved. Barrott also booked Edmundson, Morsy and two home players.
He was also the man in the middle for the opening game of last season, the home game with Bolton Wanderers, which also ended 1-1, and in which he gave the Trotters a penalty, which was converted by Aaron Morley, after debutant Davis had tripped Conor Bradley. Evans, Woolfenden and two visitors were booked.
Barrott was also in charge of Town boss McKenna’s first match in charge, the 1-0 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road in December 2021 in which he booked Morsy, Joe Pigott, Matt Penney and one Chairboy.
Squad from: Hladky, Walton, Williams, Clarke, Davis, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Baggott, Tuanzebe, Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Ball, Humphreys, Burns, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Hirst, Ladapo, Jackson.