Shade: We're Prepared To Overcome Challenges

- Leicester City's Development Squad take on Manchester City in Premier League 2 on Sunday
- The Foxes have lost their last three league games but could overtake Man City with a win 
- Tyrese Shade previews the match and assess City's start to the season

Following an EFL Trophy game versus Harrogate Town and a week without a fixture, City return to Premier League 2 action against the Citizens at Academy Stadium.

The team's recent run of fixtures has proved difficult, with three successive defeats following an impressive away win against Manchester United in the opening game of the league season.

Speaking to LCFC.com ahead of this weekend's clash, Shade discussed his confidence that, with the work the group has been putting in, a positive result is just around the corner.

"We've been speaking about the results and how we need to kick on," he commented.

"The team's focus is to take one game at a time, we don't think too far in advance so it's just about focusing for Manchester City and just trying to put things right.

"We like to play the best teams in the league and we like to put ourselves up against them and see how we fair."

Several of City's Under-23s players have headed out on loan to play first team football, with captain Sam Hughes and full-back Mitchell Clark joining Burton Albion and Port Vale respectively.

And 20-year-old Shade believes it is time for him to step up and show some leadership on the pitch, now that he has become one of the more experienced members of the Development Squad.

"It will be a tough one because a few of the senior players have gone out on loan," he admitted.

"Now it's just about me being a senior player myself now that some of the older ones have gone and us really coming together as a young group and kicking on.

"As a team we just look to get a result from each game but it's about development as well because there are younger ones are coming through, so it's good for them."

Shade, who has started all six of the Development Squad's fixtures in Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy so far this season, spent most of 2019/20 on the sidelines, which gave him even more hunger to return.

"I was out with a hamstring injury for the majority of last season so this season was about getting myself right and just playing as much as I can and performing well.

"I couldn't wait throughout lockdown, that was on my mind every day, just getting back in with the team. I'm looking forward to this season and doing well as we did last season and we like to do every season."

All times BST.