Leicester City

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brian Barry-Murphy is due to be appointed Leicester's new first team coach under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The former head coach of Manchester City's elite development squad is available after leaving the club in the summer.

The ex-Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, who also managed Rochdale, is expected to link up with the Foxes once the move is finalised with the deal not yet signed.

Van Nistelrooy said: "It's not official yet but I can confirm, 99.9% is done on the contracts. I'm very happy to add him to the coaching team.

"It's a very important factor in the translation of the game model to the training pitch, developing the team, the unit and individual to the max. He is excellent in that and I'm very happy to add him to the team."

Leicester go to Liverpool on Boxing Day after Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Wolves saw them miss the chance to go eight points clear of their relegation rivals.

Wolves, who occupy the final relegation spot, are now just just two points behind the 17th placed Foxes.

Van Nistelrooy said: "If you are going to evaluate it into a drama or success that's not the way to work as professionals," he said. "It will be highlighted in the media and fans reacting, it's the world we live in.

"We know we're here for the long run and we know the end of the season is the finish line where we have to be in a position to stay in the league.

"I'm not going to create a drama every week or celebrate a win every week. Whatever occurs it's important to stay stable."

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Premier League game against Liverpool (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news Van Nistelrooy said Jakub Stolarczyk is available and they are assessing Mads Hermansen "every day". He added: "We will see when he is 100% fit to perform for the team. I'm confident it will be in the short term but I don't know when."

• Jamie Vardy could miss the game with Van Nistelrooy stating: "We have to address Jamie, he picked up some knocks, see if he is ready for Thursday. Hopefully we will be fine if not it will be a short term issue."

• On goalkeeper Danny Ward, who was booed by Foxes' fans during their 3-0 defeat by Wolves: "What happened during the game on a personal note and also for us as a team it was a tough one because you feel for a team-mate, a player that you work with. It's support for him, be there for him, stay together and make sure we perform in a way which gives the fans something to cheer for. That is our task."

• Van Nistelrooy said they need to "stop the individual mistakes" and believes confidence can help them do so: "It's something which is confidence, trust and belief. With good focus and preparation, confidence will rise and mistakes will be less, that's what I believe in. Football is a game of mistakes but it's good to focus on reducing it."

• On James Justin: "He is a great professional with good qualities. He has played some excellent games. I'm not worried about him. We all go through different spells of form and when the crowd starts to react to you it's our job to deal with it and focus on your performances. I don't want to make it a big deal."

• He said his view of the task at hand has not changed: "No, not at all. If on a weekly basis you are going to evaluate into a drama or into a success, that is not the way you work as professionals. Of course it will be highlighted in the media and also fans will react like that, it's the world we live in, the immediate success everyone is chasing. We know we're in it for the long run and we know the end of the season is the finish line where we have to be in a position to stay in the league. That is the bigger picture for me."

• On Liverpool: "It's clear who is the dominant force in this game. When I see Liverpool play and how Arne [Slot] is managing it, I know how he wants his team to play. The streak is remarkable, the wins, the goals they scored, such few goals they concede."

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

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BBC Chief Football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Sienna asked: Do you think all three promoted sides will once again go straight back down again this season? If not, which of the non-promoted sides do you think could be relegated?

Phil Answered: I did predict before the start of the season that the three promoted sides would go back down and I still fear that will be the case.

Southampton have surely gone. Six points at Christmas is almost impossible to escape from, while Leicester City look a real concern defensively to me, as proved by losing so heavily to Wolves on Sunday.

I think Wolves have the quality to get themselves into a safe position under new coach Vitor Pereira while Everton and Crystal Palace also have enough to steer clear of the bottom three.

Strange as it may seem, Ipswich have looked OK to me at times this season but then you see results like Saturday's against Newcastle and it puts it all into perspective.

So, the three who came up will go back down in my opinion.

Image source, Getty Images

Capitulation in matches is a "running theme" at Leicester and they were guilty of "criminal" defending in their latest defeat, according to former Foxes winger Matt Piper.

The Foxes suffered a damaging home defeat to relegation rivals Wolves on Sunday with all three goals scored against them in the first half.

"It's damaging," Piper told the When You're Smiling podcast. "It won't be any good for the confidence of the group.

"Getting beat 4-0 at Newcastle and then losing 3-0 to Wolves this week who are in the relegation zone, it will hurt the confidence of the fans.

"I'm not going to get after the fans for leaving early because I understand. You see comical defending like that, your team 3-0 down at half-time, a performance strewn with mistakes.

"There was no urgency and effort in the performance and we've seen that at times under Ruud since he came in. A capitulation in that first half like the first five minutes of the second half against Newcastle.

"We had some experienced players on the pitch in both games so it is a trait you don't really understand. It's been a running theme throughout this squad. When they concede their heads start to drop, they start making unusual decisions. It has to be tied to the lack of confidence in the group.

"To make some of the defensive decisions they did in that first half is completely criminal. You can't defend like they did against Wolves and expect to win Premier League football matches."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Leicester and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Paul: A disgraceful appearance - I won't even call it a performance. As professionals, every one of them should hang their heads in shame. I would tell the entire team that they are all dropped and that the reserves or youth team will play the next match. Stupid you might say - no more stupid than letting this happen again. Wolves were not even good. Liverpool on Boxing Day could be 10-0.

Carlos: Every player must take a look at themselves and accept they are letting themselves and this club down. Where is the belief this club once thrived upon? The fans deserve better. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and show the world that Liverpool can be beaten on Boxing Day. Shameful displays over the past two games.

Ray: A different manager, but the same old rubbish. We have so many lazy players who only turn up for wages. It is now time for the owners of the club to sell them. It will be difficult to get the correct players but they must start in January.

Reuben: Why have we still got Ward? As shown last time we were in the Premier League, he is not good enough! And no club needs four goalkeepers. He is the one to get rid of. If we need to play a different goalkeeper then Iversen is there, he is not bad.

Wolves fans

Richard: Much better. There are some defensive issues and perhaps a better side would have punished us. We took the few chances we had well but, against a tougher team, we might have struggled. I was pleased to see the players closing down and fighting for the ball. It's too early to say that we are staying up, but we needed this bounce. Well done, Wolves.

Frank: Big improvement but too many mistakes in defence. Let's hope this is the start of a revival. I supported Gary O'Neil, but unfortunately he lost it so let's get behind the new manager. Things can only get better.

Oswald: Spirit - that was the key ingredient in this game. The skills are in place, now to build on tactics.

Adam: It's early days but this is why teams change their manager. Something had clearly stopped working for Gary O'Neil in 2024, and these good Premier League players were not showing their worth. This should be the start of us moving towards safety.

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given spoke to Match of the Day 2 about Leicester fans booing Danny Ward during Sunday's defeat by Wolves: "I've been there, it's a tough and lonely position. A lot goes on in between your ears.

"Ruud [van Nistelrooy] has been super positive by coming out [and defending Ward]. They are in it together. They have to get round Ward in the next few days and support him. I'm sure they have sports psychologists at the club as well. They have to stick together.

"It's not just the goalkeeper. It is the balance of the team that they have to get right and Ruud will know that."

Watch the full episode here

Leicester City are lining up an £8m deal for Argentine centre-half Valentin Gomez, 21, from Velez Sarsfield. (Sun), external

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

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to Sunday's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Chelsea

• Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth

• Tottenham 3-6 Liverpool

Ben Collins
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Ruud van Nistelrooy is only four games into his Leicester City tenure but the positivity generated by his winning start against West Ham already looks to have evaporated.

After last week's 4-0 defeat at Newcastle, Leicester found themselves 3-0 at half-time to a Wolves team whose manager was just sacked after a four-match losing streak.

Even after a host of substitutions at half-time and early in the second half, the Foxes posed Wolves few problems.

But what is most alarming for Van Nistelrooy is that those three goals were more down to sloppy defending than attacking enterprise.

Jannik Vestergaard and James Justin were at fault for the first two, while goalkeeper Danny Ward could have done better for the second.

The third goal was down to a general lack of urgency throughout the Leicester defence, which Van Nistelrooy must address if he is to prevent the Foxes falling into the relegation zone during the festive period.

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Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to BBC Radio Leicester following the heavy defeat: "It is clear what went wrong, and everyone saw that in the first-half. In football, individual mistakes and situations that you don't handle well can cost you. Wolves were very effective at putting those moments away.

"We have to acknowledge that we didn't look good, and I will be the first to do that - it is a hard one to take."

On the past two Premier League results: "The players were focused and committed today. They wanted to do well, but it [the defeat] happened.

"We, and the players, are frustrated and disappointed but it is now about reflecting to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"Last week we spoke about set-pieces, today we are talking about miscommunication and individual mistakes.

"In the Premier League, you have to be spot on against everyone, in all areas of the game."

On the decision to take Jannik Vestergaard off at half-time: "He didn't feel well at half-time. It's no major thing for the coming days."

On Mads Hermansen's injury: "We are monitoring Mads closely. He wasn't ready for today, and the turnaround before Thursday is short, but let's see where we can get."

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester have lost a Premier League home game against Wolves for the very first time (W4 D2). This was also their first home league defeat by three or more goals since May 2023 against Liverpool (3-0).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester's performance

What did you make of Wolves' display?

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

There are five matches in the Premier League on Sunday.

• Everton v Chelsea - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Southampton

• Leicester v Wolves

• Man Utd v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham v Liverpool (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 17, he takes on Reverend & the Makers singer Jon McClure.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Wolves have just appointed Vitor Pereira as Gary O'Neil's replacement but they could be without their best attacking player, Matheus Cunha, through suspension, and he would be a huge miss.

They will be hoping for the same bounce in results that Leicester got when they appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as manager a few weeks back but I think the Foxes were quite fortunate in some of those games.

Leicester have shown some spirit under Van Nistelrooy, but they are still heavily reliant on Jamie Vardy up front and still leaking goals too.

Wolves have even bigger problems at the back so Pereira might come in and try to shut up shop, but I don't know if they are capable of doing that - they are still the same players that conceded so many goals under O'Neil.

McClure's prediction: 1-1

Wolves have got enough quality to nab a draw here.

Read the full predictions and have your say

The latest When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

The Foxes are preparing to face Wolves at King Power Stadium and Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined by The Athletic's Rob Tanner to preview the bottom of the table clash.

Plus hear from manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who provides updates on Mads Hermansen's injury and Harry Winks' availability.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Wolves (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Van Nistelrooy says it's a "possibility" that Mads Hermansen will be involved this weekend after he picked up an injury against Newcastle.

• Elsewhere in the squad he confirmed Harry Winks is available for selection, however Wilfried Ndidi is still out.

• On the challenges of facing a Wolves side who have recently hired a new manager: "You can do some research on what he's done in Saudi and the teams he has managed before. You can look on how Wolves have been playing in the last few months. Will it be big changes or minor? We have to deal with it in the moment itself."

• He spoke about what the team have worked on in training this week: "We had some good meetings. Set-pieces was a big part of that so I'm expecting an improvement there. We worked on decision making and structure on the ball. We have to protect ourselves better on the ball to prevent counter-attacks."

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

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The six Premier League meetings between Leicester City and Wolves at the King Power Stadium have seen just seven goals scored, compared to 21 in the six meetings between the sides at Molineux.

Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Wolves are all interested in signing 30-year-old Newcastle United and Paraguay forward Miguel Almiron on loan in January. (Sun), external

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