'We Know We Have The Ability' – Ricardo Speaks To CITY Matchday Magazine
- CITY Matchday Magazine returns for Leicester City's encounter with Chelsea
- The Foxes host the European champions at King Power Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off)
- Ricardo Pereira has previewed the clash and recalled his century of LCFC appearances
- Fans can read his interview, plus much more, inside Saturday's edition of the Club's programme
The Foxes welcome Thomas Tuchel's European champions to King Power Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off) hoping to climb the Premier League standings after consecutive 1-1 draws with Spartak Moscow and Leeds United before the final international break of 2021.
Ricardo, on the other hand, has successfully returned from an ACL injury to feature prominently in 2021/22 and the recent visit to Elland Road marked the Portuguese's 100th appearance for the Club. After signing from FC Porto in 2018, Ricardo has won the FA Cup and Community Shield with City.
"It feels really good to have reached 100 games for this Club," Leicester's No.21 told the Club's official programme this week. "It feels like I only arrived yesterday, as everything has happened very quickly and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m very happy about reaching this achievement."
Asked to pick out a highlight, he added: "I would say winning the FA Cup, even though I didn’t play in the final, because that was such an amazing achievement for the team. The game against Man City in my first season is one of my favourites, and the 9-0 win against Southampton stands out too.
"The Community Shield victory earlier this season is one of my highlights as well. Those are a few, but there have been so many fantastic games and memories so far."
Chelsea, though, are likely to pose a considerable challenge on Saturday, but City's 28-year-old full-back says the squad will be focusing on themselves on Filbert Way this weekend.
"We know it’s going to be very tough," he explained. "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.
"They have good players, a top coach and we’ll have to be at our very best to get the win. We need the points so we’ll be giving everything, and hopefully our fans can help us with their support. 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."
You can read Ricardo's interview in full, plus much more, inside the latest edition of CITY Matchday Magazine, on sale from Saturday.
All times GMT.