'A Huge Benefit For Us' – Ricardo Speaks Inside Foxes Programme

- Leicester City host Aston Villa at King Power Stadium on Saturday (3pm BST kick-off)
- Ricardo Pereira has previewed the encounter inside the latest edition of CITY Matchday Magazine
- The Portugal full-back scored the winner in a 2-1 success at PSV Eindhoven earlier this week
- Fans can pick up their copy of the Club's programme for just £3 on Filbert Way this weekend

City won 2-1 at PSV Eindhoven – with Ricardo netting a last-gasp winner – to seal a semi-final tie against Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League. They were on the opposite end of late goals, however, in a defeat at Newcastle United before a 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

Brendan Rodgers' men will be looking for a first home success over Villa since March 2020 and go into the encounter with Steven Gerrard's men on the back of three Filbert Way successes on the bounce. Ahead of that clash, Ricardo sat down with CITY Matchday Magazine to preview Leicester's next outing.

"We know it’s going to be a tough game," the Portugal international told the Club's programme. "They had their struggles at the beginning of the season but have improved under their new manager, Steven Gerrard. They have good players all over the pitch, who can make the difference at any time.

"It will be difficult, but after three away games in a row, we’re very happy to be playing at home again in front of our supporters. We’ll be looking to make that home advantage count and hopefully come away with all three points. 

"It’s a huge benefit for us and so important for our season. We have found a good momentum with our home games, picking up great results in difficult games, against teams in the Premier League and in Europe. Every time we step out onto our home pitch with our fans around us, we feel confident.

"We have big games coming up where we’ll need to be at our best, so we’ll keep moving in this way and try to make the most of our home advantage."

After tackling Villa on Filbert Way, José Mourinho's Roma visit Leicester next Thursday for the first leg of their last-four tie in Europe. It promises to be a special occasion at King Power Stadium and Ricardo was delighted to play such a pivotal role in setting the tie up in the Netherlands. 

"It was a really special night for us, especially when you look at the circumstances of the game," he added. "We were playing away from home, in a difficult stadium, and we went in at half-time 1-0 down.

"But we had a chat at half-time to see how we can improve in the second half, and then we came out and played at a really high level. To turn the game around and score the winning goal so late in the game was really special. It was a great night for the Club and our supporters."