Leicester City

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Ruud van Nistelrooy knows he needs time at Leicester - but acknowledges he does not have that luxury.

The Foxes boss is "fed up" talking about positive performances without points after their 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

It was a sixth straight defeat in the Premier League and left them in the bottom three before Saturday's visit of Fulham.

Van Nistelrooy, who has only been at the club for seven weeks, remains relaxed and confident in his squad's ambition to survive and they are only two points away from the safety line.

Yet the natives are restless at King Power Stadium, frustrated with the lack of results but also the running of the club, with director of football Jon Rudkin in the firing line from fans again on Wednesday.

Van Nistelrooy said: "It's the belief, it's the part in me that after seven weeks there's patience required - although there is no time - and how close the bottom five teams are together. There are possibilities but we have to pick up points.

"Every game there is the pressure to perform, whether you are up in the league or down in the league. Every team is doing their utmost to do so.

"There is no pressure adding up, it just shifts from game to game, you play them one at a time. That pressure doesn't add up, every game you perform. That cycle, I'm used to."

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• New signing Woyo Coulibaly did not train with the team on Thursday while the paperwork regarding his transfer from Parma was finalised, but Van Nistelrooy is hopeful he may be involved in some capacity against Fulham.

• Van Nistelrooy said of Coulibaly: "He's a strong, powerful player and very good in one-v-one situations defensively. He's good on the ball and he has a physical profile that suits the Premier League. He's also at an age where he's in the prime of his career, so we have high hopes for him to do well for us."

• On the prospect of more signings in January: "We're working on every possibility. I'm very happy with this one [Coulibaly -, he's a very good option for us and also for the future of the club. Hopefully we can add some more."

• On positives despite a run of six straight Premier League defeats: "It's a matter of getting those good performances into points and that's the target because we know where we are in the league. Only points can get us out of that situation. we know that every game we don't collect [points] is one game gone and that makes it more difficult."

• He added: "Performances are something you can build on, but we're all fed up with that and want points."

• On lifting the players after another loss: "We want to show what we're about, and I want to show what I'm about, to deal with disappointments. Sir Bobby [Robson] always said: 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'. That's something I thought about this morning - let's be tough and show the same passion, commitment, spirit and belief that we can do it on Saturday."

• Van Nistelrooy described Fulham as a "well-organised team" that are "very well managed" and added it will be a "fantastic challenge to compete with them".

Follow Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Leicester and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans:

James: First half was decent with good chances, but so we were wasteful and the build-up all too slow to really hurt the opposition. Second half? May as well have just given the win to Palace with so little of note to report.

Gerry: It is difficult to know what goes through the minds of the players in such games? Lack of confidence or belief in their abilities? We need to move the ball forward more, passing it back creates that negativity we need to rid of and that would create more chances and utilise players like Jamie Vardy.

Steve: Same old problems continue to bring us down. No clue how to mark in defence and too slow all over the pitch, plus zero control in midfield. Embarassingly easy for Palace.

Matt: You can't expect to survive with home defeats by teams in and around the relegation zone. Big damage was done losing 3-0 to Wolves and last night's loss sadly further damages our survival hopes. The squad is not at the level - not directly their fault but poor recruitment over previous years has come to fruition.

Crystal Palace fans:

Paul: Palace got the job done, but I am worried that Eberechi Eze wasn't as influential as he should be. He seemed to pause too long on the ball and was not instinctive enough. There were lot of misplaced passes. A shame about Trevoh Chalobah but our defense is still mean though.

Stanis: Another hard-fought win against the teams around us, which has been the Palace way ever since we got promoted. Ismaila Sarr and Will Hughes put in another great shift. The free-flowing football from the end of last season will return once Adam Wharton is back match fit.

Jerry: A poor start by Palace who gave the ball away too easily and helped make Leicester look the better side in the first half. I'm guessing Glasner spoke his mind at half-time and they improved and looked dangerous on the break. A hard-working three points and hopefully less pressure on the team for their next match at West Ham.

Leslie: A thoroughly deserved win. Not pretty but the defence was controlled in excellent fashion. Maxence Lacroix was exceptional.

Image source, Getty Images

Ruud van Nistelrooy, speaking to BBC Radio Leicester after home defeat against Crystal Palace: "The levels dropped in the second half. I did not see that coming. The momentum changed. Our levels dropped too much.

"Palace were better and more aggressive. We were not as aggressive as we were in the first half. After the first goal, we had to re-adjust and recover. We got back on our feet, but you have to take them chances.

"It's a huge opportunity missed. We were all so focused on today. It's a massive disappointment.

"These are the moments you have to take advantage of. Every game you do not do that, it makes it more difficult.

"To get the best out of this team, we have to play in a certain way. You cannot say let's play 4-5-1 and try and not to lose. We have a squad that is creative, and needs to play. But we have to try and prevent all the goals we concede."

Did you know?

Leicester City have lost each of their last six Premier League games in succession, their longest run in the competition since September 2022. The Foxes last endured a longer top-flight losing streak between March and April 2001 (eight defeats).

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• Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth

• Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool

• Everton 0-1 Aston Villa

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Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking to TNT Sports: "I think the difference between the first and second half was something I didn't see coming and it was big.

"It was a very good and energetic first half and the second half was very poor. They had a bit of momentum out of the dressing room. That first goal was in and I thought there that the confidence dropped a bit.

"We have to look at what we created in the firts half. We have to grab the momentum ourselves with the goal and build on that. We have to keep going. We couldn't get the chances in the second half and it was really difficult at 2-0.

"If you look at what you create over a game, it's enough to get a result and get points. It's a big blow, we were looking to get a result and this is a big blow. We need to stick together and everyone is looking in the same direction.

"Six without a win is not good enough. You can't keep talking about performances. We need to win and that needs to happen soon."

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester captain Jamie Vardy, speaking to TNT Sports: "I'm not sure. I don't know if it's mental or physical. I think we'll look back and try to dissect it all.

"It's disappointing. We don't want to be in this situation. We need to be doing it for 90 minutes, 45 isn't enough.

"We've not been with the gaffer that long and we're getting better and better with how he wants us to play. We need to do it for the full 90 and everything clicks.

"There's always confidence but we've not been able to get those results. Football is a results business. We've not got the result we wanted tonight but it's a quick turnaround."

Callum Matthews
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Leicester City have problems at the back and upfront.

The defeat by Crystal Palace is their sixth successive loss in the Premier League and they have conceded two goals in all of those games. They have also failed to score in four of those matches.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's side were the better side in the first half, but Jamie Vardy had left his shooting boots at home.

He fired at Dean Henderson when one-on-one and scooped a half-volley over the bar.

One of Leicester's many problems is who else is going to stand up and score if Vardy is having an off night.

Their only second-half shot on target came in stoppage time and Van Nistelrooy will need to remedy that just as much as tightening up at the back if they are to survive.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester's performance

What did you make of Crystal Palace's display?

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies

There are four Premier League fixtures on Wednesday and we will bring you every moment.

• Everton v Aston Villa - listen on the BBC Sport website and app

• Leicester v Crystal Palace - listen on the BBC Sport website and app

• Newcastle v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Arsenal v Tottenham (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 19:30 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mats Sels has been the talk of the town for his goalkeeping performances this season... but it is Leicester's Mads Hermansen who has the highest number of goals prevented. And by a hefty margin too.

Based on the quality of the shots on target that Hermansen has faced this season, Opta expect him to have conceded 35.44 goals.

He has actually conceded just 29, which leaves him with a net positive goals prevented stat of 6.44.

He is followed by Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers - though that is from a very small data set as he has only made five appearances.

Crystal Palace's Dean Henderson, West Ham's Lukasz Fabianski and Tottenham's Guglielmo Vicario complete the top five, with Mats Sels next.

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed on BBC Sounds.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined by football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley as Leicester keep within Profit and Sustainability rules for the 2023-24 season.

Listen to the full episode

Leicester enjoyed a big win in the FA Cup but they are on a run of five successive defeats in the league and it feels like they have got to get something from this game.

It will not be easy for the Foxes. Crystal Palace have been much improved in the past few weeks and have built a bit of momentum after only losing one of their past nine league games.

I definitely do not see the Eagles losing this and although it will be tight, they are the team who I think will find a way of winning it, probably through Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Leicester had already found the 'loophole' to escape one charge and possible points deduction.

This time they have managed to avoid a breach via more traditional means. Harvey Barnes' £38m move to Newcastle and Timothy Castagne's £15m transfer to Fulham in 2023 will be included in their latest accounts, while the £10m compensation banked from former manager Enzo Maresca's switch to Chelsea in the summer will also ease losses.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's £30m transfer to Chelsea is also included.

The £92.5m loss from 2022 will now drop off the three-year assessment period but the £90m loss from 2023 remains, while the Foxes' accounts from 2023-24 - their season in the Championship - are yet to be made public.

Relegation back to the Championship - which they remain in danger of - would have a damaging impact on the club's finances again. In 2024, after their initial charge, Leicester accused the English Football League of "conspiring with the Premier League to use unlawful means and to procure or induce a breach of contract by the Premier League" as relationships deteriorated.

Read more on how Premier League clubs kept to spending rules

Sheffield United have bid £7m for Leicester striker Tom Cannon, who is on loan at Stoke City. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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There were "no egos" in the dressing room of Leicester's remarkable Premier League title-winning team, says former captain Wes Morgan.

The Foxes' 5,000-1 title win in 2016 was one of sport's greatest achievements, having pulled off a relegation escape just the season before.

Morgan was a key part of the Foxes' team that helped the side triumph that included goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, midfielder N'Golo Kante and striker Jamie Vardy.

"There were no egos in there - everyone was on a normal level," Morgan told BBC Sport's Nick Mashiter.

"Yes, we had big characters - Schmeichel, Vardy, Riyad Mahrez - but in-house, everyone was 'yeah, we're doing great - there's no pressure on us'. Around the time we beat Manchester City away, that's when I actually thought, 'oh, we could actually do something special.

"But I never felt like we were in a title-winning season.

"When you're so close to that goal, to achieving something no-one thought would be possible, you start off taking things a bit more... I don't want to say seriously because we always take it seriously, but there's a lot more emphasis in making sure we do things right."

Defender Morgan, who made 323 appearances for Leicester, felt the spirit in the side was always "core" to his time at the club.

"We had a solid team that would bond and do a lot of activities off the pitch together and that just made us stronger," he said.

"We had great owners as well. They would take us out. They would offer, if we won the next three out of four games, to take us out for dinner in London and little things like that, just to build that bonding and that togetherness in the team."

Morgan also praised the "superb experience and knowledge" that manager Claudio Ranieri brought to the team to help them get over the line that campaign.

"Claudio was a media favourite because of his one-liners and his character in these interviews," said Morgan. "He would always take the headlines.

"Credit to Claudio, one of the main things he did, which helped us massively, was push that narrative [of not being in the title race].

"He deserves massive credit because that got a lot of pressure off the Leicester boys at that time."

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

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Ant McPartlin once said: "You weren't expecting that were you?"

Well no, I certainly was NOT. Now let's be honest, as priorities go this season, an FA Cup run is not atop Leicester's list. And therein lies the problem for Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Should he he take the opportunity to blood some of the youngsters ready for a potential call-up for the senior squad in the league? They couldn't do any worse than some of the performances the so-called first team have put in this season!

Or should he 'go big or go home' and play the big guns, albeit most of them have been firing blanks all season.

We had recently played Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa - all Champions League sides. While we got no points points from these games, we were not humiliated and in fact we performed well. Were we, perhaps, seeing the green shoots of Ruud's philosophy coming through.

So there was an argument for the Dutchman not to disrupt this and stick with the same players. Well, it worked. He got everything spot on - starting line-up, tactics, substitutions.

Yes, you could argue it was only a Championship side, but this was one who had turned their season round, only losing one of their past six and winning their past two.

They would prove a match for most bottom-half Premier League teams - the type we need to beat if we are to survive.

A shoutout for James Justin as well, our man of the match, but I was left wondering why no yellow ball was used.

The future, unlike the weather on Saturday, is bright. The future is Ruud.

Find more from Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die, external

Leicester are set to sign French full-back Woyo Coulibaly from Parma in a £3m deal. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Meanwhile, the Foxes are open to selling defender Wout Faes at the end of the season to ensure they meet profit and sustainability regulations. (Sky Sports Switzerland - in French, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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