Town boss Kieran McKenna says Monday’s live-on-Sky game against leaders Leicester City at the King Power Stadium is a “great marker” as the Blues look to climb back to second and make up ground on the Foxes.
Leicester are currently seven points ahead of both Town and Southampton, who moved above the Blues on Saturday on goal difference following their 3-1 win at Swansea City.
The Foxes lost by the same scoreline at Coventry City in their most recent fixture just over a week ago having been reduced to 10 men after Abdul Fatawu’s dismissal on half-time.
But prior to that, they had won their last nine in all competitions aside from the 1-1 draw at Portman Road on Boxing Day.
Town have had the luxury of a midweek without a match, allowing the Blues boss to work with his squad on the training field at length, including a session on the main Portman Road pitch yesterday due to frozen conditions at Playford Road.
"It’s been really good,” he told TownTV. "It’s come at a good time. It’s important to have some time together on the training pitch and we’ve tried to use the time well.
"We’re looking forward to the game now. It’s nice to have that nine-day period after having so many games in quick succession and we can’t wait to get out there on Monday night now.”
At home this season, Leicester have won 11 and lost two of their 13 Championship matches.
The Foxes are the highest scorers in the division, 55, five more than Town, who are third in that table behind Southampton, 53, and have conceded the fewest, 21. Town are ninth in that table having shipped 34.
At home, Leicester have conceded only seven in the Championship, three fewer than anyone else. They have scored 27 times at home, the fifth-highest in the division with Town top of that table on 35.
The Boxing Day clash was a high-quality, entertaining fixture with the Blues perhaps unfortunate not to claim all three points having been the better side in the second half having gone behind in the first.
"Let’s see,” McKenna said when asked whether he was anticipating a similar game on Monday.
"I hope so because we showed that we could compete with them on the night. It took a massive effort from everyone, players and supporters alike, on the night to be able to compete a team of their level.
"But we showed we could do that on the night and that’s the challenge to go and try and show again.
"Of course, we’ve got to do it away from home now. Both teams have had a good look at each other but we’re going to go and try and be competitive again, try and stick true to ourselves and how we play and go and show that we can try and show that we can compete on their pitch and if we do that, hopefully we’ll give ourselves a chance to get a result again.”
The Blues will be backed by more than 3,300 travelling fans at the King Power Stadium.
"I think it’s going to be a really good atmosphere,” McKenna continued. "It’s a lovely stadium, a great pitch and we’ll have a fantastic away support again.
"It’s one to really enjoy. It’s nice to go into it coming off the back of a victory [last week’s 2-1 home win against Sunderland] and it’s a game to go and embrace. A big challenge, probably not many tougher games in the division, but we’re really looking forward to it.
"We’ll go out there and test ourselves and with the away support behind us, it’s a great marker for us to go and rise to that challenge again.”
McKenna will probably stick essentially with the side which beat the Black Cats with Vaclav Hladky in goal.
Harry Clarke looks set to continue at right-back with Leif Davis on the left. Axel Tuanzebe could return for Luke Woolfenden at right centre-half alongside George Edmundson.
In central midfield, if Massimo Luongo isn’t over his ankle injury, Lewis Travis and Jack Taylor are likely to keep their places with skipper Sam Morsy serving the second game of his two-match ban.
Ahead of them, Conor Chaplin is again likely to be the stand-in captain in the middle between Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead with Marcus Harness an alternative for the left-sided role.
Kayden Jackson looks set to continue as the number nine with Freddie Ladapo having departed for Charlton on Friday, although Broadhead is an option for that role.
Leicester City have lost Cesare Casadei following his recall by Chelsea and could be without midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the 25-year-old suffered a knock in the incident which led to the Foxes’ penalty - which he converted to claim his ninth goal of the season - in last weekend’s loss at Coventry.
"The only one who is out since the Coventry game is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, because of the foul he received for the penalty,” manager Enzo Maresca said at a press conference on Thursday.
"He had a problem about that. He has not trained with us until today. We'll see for Monday's game. But at the moment he's out.”
In addition to Casadei and Dewsbury-Hall, five other players are absent with Wilfred Ndidi sidelined until April with a serious muscle injury and Fatawu suspended having been red-carded against the Sky Blues.
Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho are away at the Africa Cup of Nations, with Zambia and Nigeria respectively, and Harry Souttar is playing alongside Town’s Cameron Burgess for Australia at the Asian Cup.
Better news for Maresca, who will watch Monday’s game from the stands as he is subject to a touchline ban after picking up his third yellow card of the season last week, is that veteran striker Jamie Vardy is back in full training and could play a part against the Blues.
As he said prior to last month’s game, Maresca is a big fan of the Blues: "They are an unbelievable team. Last year and this year, you can see what they’ve done.
"They are working with the same manager and same idea for a long time, so that helps a lot. What they do, they do fantastic.”
Regarding his touchline ban, he added: "There is [assistant manager] Willy [Caballero] and [first-team coach] Danny [Walker] on the bench, they are going to be there to help the team the way I do. We don’t have a plan. We have two people there and I’ll be in contact with them.”
Town have just had the upper hand historically, winning 27 games between the sides (27 in the league), drawing 19 (18) and losing 26 (24).
The teams last met at Portman Road on Boxing Day when skipper Morsy’s twice-deflected 93rd-minute strike saw the Blues grab a deserved point as the teams drew 1-1.
Stephy Mavididi gave the visitors a lead in the 24th minute which was a fair reflection of the first half but Town were the better side after the break and were well worth a share of the points, if not more.
The teams last met at the King Power Stadium in February 2014 when David Nugent’s inevitable goal was sandwiched between strikes from Vardy and future Blues loanee Chris Wood as Leicester, also leading the Championship ahead of that match, 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.
Town’s currently injured striker George 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.
Monday’s referee is Josh Smith from Bedfordshire, who has shown 92 yellow cards and five red in 24 games so far this season.
Smith has already taken charge of four Town matches in 2023/24, most recently the 2-2 derby draw at home to Norwich City in which he booked only Woolfenden and Morsy.
Prior to that, he took control of the 1-0 win at Bristol City at the end of October in which he yellow-carded Davis, Morsy, Hirst and Jackson.
He also refereed the 1-0 win at Southampton, in which he cautioned Brandon Williams and Taylor.
Smith was also the man in the middle for the 2-0 home victory over Stoke City in which he yellow-carded Morsy, Hladky, Janoi Donacien and one of the visitors.
Last season, he refereed the 4-4 draw at Charlton in October in which he booked nine players - Morsy, Burns, Christian Walton, Dominic Ball, Tyreece John-Jules and four Addicks - as well as sending off home manager Ben Garner for taking his protests too far following the Blues’ second goal.
Before that, he was in charge of the 4-0 win at Portsmouth in October 2021 in which he cautioned Morsy, George Edmundson and two home players, one of them Harness.
Smith was also in control of the 2-2 home draw with the MK Dons in August 2021 in which he yellow-carded Woolfenden, Kane Vincent-Young and one visiting player.
His only other Town match was the 2-1 EFL Trophy defeat away at Exeter in January 2020 in which he again booked Woolfenden, as well as Toto Nsiala, Will Keane and one Grecian.
Squad from: Hladky, Walton, Clarke, Davis, Humphreys, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Travis, Luongo, Taylor, Ball, Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Sarmiento, Jackson.