While the Foxes are ninth in the Premier League, as well as being in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Frank Lampard's Toffees currently sit just three points above the relegation zone. The two sides meet at Goodison Park for a 7:45pm BST kick-off on Wednesday.
Everton have been ever-presents in the Premier League era and last played second tier football 68 years ago. The Merseyside club are intent on prolonging that incredible spell of top tier football even further but have found themselves embroiled in a nerve-wracking relegation battle this season.
Initially starting the campaign managed by Rafael Benítez, Everton are now under the guidance of Lampard, who has won five of his 13 matches in charge. City, on the other hand, are without a win in their last three matches against the nine-time old First Division winners.
"We have to focus very much on ourselves," former Liverpool manager Rodgers said. "It’ll be another stadium with a good atmosphere, but we use that to make us stronger and together and then we play our football. That’s our idea. We’ll arrive at Goodison on Wednesday and look to play our football.
"We know that if we can do that we can win games. When I was on Merseyside (at Liverpool), Roberto [Martínez] was doing really well with them. Obviously, they’ve had lots of managers, and clearly strategically, it’s something they want to look at going forward. The vision of the club is so important.
"Frank will do really well as a manager. He’s gone in there with a really good team of coaches, but of course, that overall vision of the club is so, so important. It’s well documented, the money that’s been spent. It’s been a lot of money, but if it doesn’t all join up, it doesn’t really matter.
"They’ve got good players that will work hard and make it difficult and they’ve got players with quality. It’s frustrating for the supporters, I’m sure. It’s a huge club, the investment’s been huge, and they probably wanted better."
The Foxes go into the game on the back of a late 2-1 reverse to Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Sunday. Rodgers made eight changes to his starting XI for that clash on Tyneside, which came just three days after a superb 2-1 victory at PSV Eindhoven in Europe.
The City manager was pleased with many aspects of the performance in Newcastle, but couldn't hide his frustration at the result. Another three-day gap between fixtures comes this week ahead of the visit to Goodison Park. Aston Villa at home is then next up on Saturday.
"You don’t always get what you deserve in football at times and I think that was the case," the Northern Irishman explained. "I thought we played very well in the game from a performance perspective. We started the game really well. We had good control.
"We were a little bit loose midway through the first half, about 25 minutes, with our passing. That led to the corner and it gives them a little gee up in the crowd. In the second half, it was a case of controlling the game and, for large parts of it, we did that. We looked a real threat.
"I’d have thought Eddie [Howe] would have been happy with a point by the end, but for some reason, we failed to control the ball at the very end of the game. If you don’t control the ball, you can’t control the game. It’s hugely disappointing in terms of the result, but lots of the performance was very, very good and that’s what we’ll take from the game."
Rodgers says the squad will now reflect on their performance in the game in order to ensure they arrive on Merseyside in the best frame of mind.
"I think we’re always quite reflective in our games," Rodgers added. "It’s different when you come off [a defeat] and you don’t play well and you can’t see the items you’re looking for in the team. I thought our pressing was good, we were aggressive, and I thought the football was good.
"When you lose, there is disappointment, but for me, it’s clear. The analysis of the game was that there were large parts of the game which we controlled and we were good. You’ve just got to manage the game. You see that young mentality in us sometimes. That’s cost us a few times this season.
"It’s the case of reinforcing a lot of the good moments in the game and learning. You reflect, you learn and hopefully you can go on and win your next game. It shows you the mentality and the resilience which is there in the squad and we’ll take that up to Everton on Wednesday."