Leicester aim to keep Leeds ‘quiet’ in crucial match


Leicester City celebrate
Defender Timothy Castagne scored the winning goal against Wolves on Saturday

Leicester City will aim to keep the Leeds United fans “quiet” when the teams face-off in a “crucial” Premier League game to avoid relegation.

The sides occupy the two places immediately above the drop zone – Leeds a point clear and the Foxes by virtue of goal difference ahead of Everton.

Leeds and Leicester meet at Elland Road on Tuesday (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Smith said the clash in West Yorkshire is “crucial” as the opposition are “in and around you” in the table.

The former Aston Villa boss added: “If we beat them, we go above them, which would be massive for us. But ultimately it’s about us and what we do.

“We can’t give cheap free kicks away, cheap goals. We have to keep them quiet for as long as we can and it’ll be an easier game for us.”

The two clubs changed their managers during the season as they look to avoid dropping down into the Championship, with Javi Gracia replacing Jesse Marsch at Leeds and Smith coming in for the sacked Brendan Rodgers at Leicester.

Both are in a rotten run of form: Leeds have lost four of their past five league games, while Leicester’s 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday ended a run of nine winless games.

There could be goals galore too as Leeds have conceded five or more goals in their past two home games and Leicester are the only side in Europe’s top five leagues without a clean sheet since the World Cup break.

The next two games could make or break Leicester’s season, hosting 18th-placed Everton at King Power Stadium next Monday after the trip to Leeds.

Smith said: “I have looked at the fixtures in general and excluding Man City, there are games you can go and get results and points. There are a couple of tough ones like Newcastle away and Liverpool, but there are games we can compete in.

“We are not looking at this week in general, we are looking at Tuesday and Leeds United at Elland Road. It is a great place to go and play football with the atmosphere their fans produce, and our job is to try and keep them quiet.

“This game is about the two 18-yard boxes. You’ve got to defend yours well, and we didn’t give too many chances to Wolves. We restricted them but we had some big chances in theirs. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

Leicester have been boosted by winger Harvey Barnes returning from injury, who missed the weekend game with a hamstring injury, while playmaker James Maddison should be back too after illness.

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