Leicestershire

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Former Leicester defender Michael Morrsion says Friday's match against Brentford is a chance for the Foxes to put pressure on relegation rivals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Morrison said: "With the game kicking off the night before, you can gain a psychological advantage on your opponents if you win. It's a great opportunity to put pressure on everybody.

"No disrespect to Brentford, but they are games you are looking at and thinking you can win this. It makes it more exciting with everyone realising the advantage we can get from it.

"We will have to be really good at set-pieces, defensively - Brentford are a threat with them. We can't try too hard to score and leave the back door open because Brentford are really good at counter-attacking football."

Listen to the full episode here

Leicester have not won at home in the Premier League since 3 December, when they beat West Ham in Ruud van Nistelrooy's first game in charge, and they have lost their past five league games at King Power Stadium.

So, it would be massive for the Foxes if they can get anything at all here to help in their relegation fight, but I just don't see them keeping Brentford out.

Van Nistelrooy had just been appointed but was watching in the stands when the Bees hammered Leicester 4-1 earlier in the season and I am expecting their creativity and attacking energy to be too much this time, too.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

The latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

BBC Radio Leciester's Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined by former Foxes defender Michael Morrison to discuss Andy King becoming part of Ruud van Nistelrooy's first-team coaching set-up, and preview Friday's match against Brentford.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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I was a fan of Steve Cooper. He struggled in the end at Nottingham Forest but with the transition with all the players they brought in at once, he had to try to manage and cope with that.

He was then given the job at Leicester and I was excited to see what he would do. However, they spent a lot of that time fighting around the relegation places. But, with the three teams that got promoted, I am not sure there was anyone that really gave those teams a chance of maintaining their Premier League place, which makes it a difficult one. What are the expectations of the club?

That is part of the problem. The expectations of the club compared to the expectation of the fans. That is a problem across the Premier League and football right now. Cooper did not get the results and fans turned against him.

But, if we are going to measure his success based on points picked up compared to Ruud van Nistelrooy, it would suggest it was a mistake to sack him. However, with Van Nistelrooy, he has come in and he has tried to make them harder to beat. They have not managed to get the results that maybe match up to the performances he has brought out of the team.

I think Leicester are in the position they were always going to be in, no matter who was in charge. They were always going to be fighting relegation and anything else would be a bonus, so it was always going to be difficult for the manager.

Leicester did not really invest when they came up, they did not have the money to as there were financial difficulties from when they were in the Championship. They came back up with a Championship team that was mostly the side that took them down the year before and were not good enough to stay in the top flight.

What has helped Van Nistelrooy, however, is that his communication is really good. He is quite open with the current situation and has been understanding of the fans wanting to protest against the running of the club as long as they support the team in these difficult moments.

He has been winning the fans over, which Cooper did not do, so from that side of it, it was probably the right thing to bring Van Nistelrooy in.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Arnav Bhatia
Fan writer

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It's a grim period for Leicester City.

The former Premier League champions seem destined for their second relegation in three years, and the disconnect between fans and the club has never been greater.

There was much excitement when legendary striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was named Steve Cooper's successor. Van Nistelrooy had fared reasonably well in his managerial career, but the Leicester board were gambling on a largely inexperienced manager to steer them to safety.

Two months into his appointment, the gamble appears to have failed. Leicester sit 19th in the league standings, and have managed just two victories in the 13 league games Van Nistelrooy has managed.

Statistically, Van Nistelrooy is performing worse than Cooper in some key metrics. Leicester have managed fewer goals scored (0.75 per game vs Cooper's 1.25), expected goals (0.87xG vs 1.01) and have conceded more (2.33 vs 1.92).

However, a closer look at other statistics such as xG, shots taken, and final-third touches show Leicester's creativity hasn't dipped much. The attackers were overperforming their xG under Cooper, and that overachievement has simply balanced out under Van Nistelrooy. Still, the number is low. Leicester need to create more chances, and Facundo Buonanotte's lack of minutes is not helping.

Van Nistelrooy has given Leicester an identity, and performances – especially from the midfield – have been good. Defensive issues and individual errors persist, though, and the lack of signings in January, alongside injuries to key players, makes his job even more challenging.

While a more experienced manager may have fared better, it's hard to fault Van Nistelrooy entirely. A manager can only do so much. The players have escaped accountability far too many times, especially under Cooper's tenure, and they now need to step up and find the spark to inspire Leicester to another great escape.

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Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy believes fans are showing "pure passion" amid recent protests.

A section of supporters held a protest march against the Foxes' hierarchy before the recent home defeat by Arsenal.

Director of football Jon Rudkin has come under increasing pressure from fans with the club sitting second from bottom in the table after winning only four of their 25 Premier League games this season.

Foxes chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha called for fans to unite behind the team in his programme notes before the game against the Gunners, but Van Nistelrooy does not feel the protests impacted the team and believes there is still enough support for his players.

"I do. I think it's pure passion what you see around you," the Dutchman said before Friday's home game against Brentford.

"Passion for the football club to do better and that is a great thing to see and to feel and to represent that.

"I feel in the Arsenal game we were supported really well. I didn't hear any negativity. The fans were all behind the team.

"We all suffered, off and on the pitch with those late goals. The protest, I haven't really seen that because we were already in the stadium preparing for the game.

"So the supporters did that separate from us. So that helped. We were focusing on the game and when we went out there was nothing visible about that and that felt like great support."

Leicester City and Crystal Palace are watching Midtjylland and Guinea-Bissau forward Franculino Dju, 20, who came through Benfica's academy. (Bold - in Danish, external)

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