Talking Heads: Rodgers, Allardyce, Praet & Johnstone On Leicester vs. West Brom
- Leicester City welcome West Bromwich Albion to King Power Stadium on Thursday (8pm kick-off)
- The Foxes enjoyed a 3-0 victory over the Baggies at the Hawthorns back in September
- Sam Allardyce and Sam Johnstone have previewed the clash in the media this week
- Brendan Rodgers and Dennis Praet have also spoken to the press
Leicester City are third and the Baggies are 19th, but while the Foxes have suffered two successive defeats in the Premier League, Sam Allardyce's men have won two on the spin.
City have, however, reached the Club's first Emirates FA Cup Final in 52 years by overcoming Southampton at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Ahead of Thursday's encounter on Filbert Way, key figures from both dressing rooms have been speaking in the media to preview the fixture...
Speaking on Tuesday, Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers said: "It’ll be a very dangerous game for us. Sam [Allardyce], when he came out of the window, he was probably really happy with the business that he’d done, getting the players in that he wanted. They’ve shown, against Chelsea and Southampton, that they are a very dangerous team. Sam, as he does, he sets them up really well. Defensively, they’ve been strong, they haven’t conceded many goals. They’ve got players who are dynamic and can give you a problem. It’s the beauty of this league. Teams towards the bottom of the table are fighting for different reasons, so we know it’s going to be a really dangerous game, and that’s what we’re ready for."
During his press conference on Wednesday, Baggies manager Sam Allardyce told the media: "Three points at Leicester on Thursday would keep us still very much in the picture of being able to stay in the Premier League. As hard as the task appears, we must believe we can move forward in a positive direction against Leicester. We would love to deliver another win because another win is 100 per cent what we need. We’ve got to try and keep this level of performance and results going to try and keep us in touch with the teams above us in the league. Leicester are performing brilliantly this season. They are in the top four chasing a spot in the Champions League and they’ve also secured a spot in the FA Cup final. We know the quality they have."
Leicester midfielder Dennis Praet told LCFC TV: "We have to continue with the game we had against Southampton. It was the way we need to play and we should get some points, absolutely, because it’s very tight. We concentrate on ourselves. That’s the most important thing because everything is in our hands. Of course, you follow the other results to know how the standings are, but the main thing is ourselves, and we try to only watch ourselves. We know what we want, so all the last games will all be very important, starting with the first one against West Brom. They are fighting for something as well."
On West Brom's official website, goalkeeper Sam Johnstone said: "We’ve had two really, really positive results and we’re desperate to build on that success. Our performances in both games were impressive and the lads deserve a lot of credit for digging in and producing that type of football. Confidence is obviously high because of the eight goals scored and six points secured, but it’s also high because we know we’ve been playing well for a while now and not just in the last two games. We’ve got another crucial week coming up. Every game means so much from now until the end of the season and we know every point or goal can have a big impact on the final outcome."
All times BST.