Leicester City

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Leicester City manager Marti Cifuentes, speaking to BBC Radio Leicester after his side's 2-1 defeat by Hull City on Tuesday:

"A really bad first half, probably the worst first half of the season. I take responsibility because I'm not happy with the performance.

"I'm not happy at all. It's far from the standards I want. It makes me feel very angry.

"The way we defended the second goal, we missed the transition. The tracking back should be better. Especially in this league, there is some basics we need to be better at. I take responsibility for that.

"It makes me reflect about a number of things. We know we are at the start of this process, but that is no excuse.

"In the second half, we had a lot of chances. I think there was only one on target. We need to reflect on how we improve in the final third. No one can be dominant for 95 minutes. We need to cope better with the opposition's momentum."

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Promising Foxes striker Jake Evans has signed his first professional contract with Leicester City.

The 17-year-old, who made his Premier League debut against Brighton in April, featured in four top-flight games last season.

While he has yet to feature in the first team this campaign, Evans has scored three goals in five PL2 games for the under-21s and struck twice in the Premier League Cup last Friday against Charlton.

Northampton-born Evans has been part of the club's academy set-up since the under-9s.

Image source, PA Media

Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes is jumping at the chance to get back on the pitch at Hull City on Tuesday night after the disappointment of being held at home by Portsmouth.

A fifth draw in their last six matches on Saturday night was a setback for Leicester's promotion aspirations but their manager wants them to take out the frustration on Hull at the MKM Stadium.

The Tigers won 3-2 at Birmingham City on Saturday and after an inconsistent start under Sergej Jakirovic have lost just once in their last six Championship fixtures .

"When you have this feeling almost of a defeat, when you have a bad feeling, I think the best thing that happens is that you want to play immediately," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester.

"It's a quick turnaround and we are going to get all the guys together, try to recover, try to analyse what we could have done better and and bring the positives into the game.

"We want to be very self-critical on the things we need to improve and make sure we improve our performance because Hull are coming from a strong win away and we can expect they will be in a good mood playing at home and we will definitely have to be at our best to get the three points."

Hull City are going for three league victories in a row for the first time since the start of October last year.

Leicester's only Championship defeat so far this season came in their first away game of the campaign at Preston North End.

• Hull have only won two of their past nine league meetings with Leicester City (D3 L4), with the most recent ending 2-2 in March 2024.

• Leicester have only won one of their past five league trips to Hull City (D2 L2), winning 1-0 in the Premier League in December 2014.

• After their 1-0 win over Sheffield United, Hull could win back-to-back home league games for only the second time since the start of last season, last doing so in March.

• Leicester have won as many of their five away games in the Championship this season (2) as they managed in 19 on the road in the Premier League last term.

• Hull's Oli McBurnie has been directly involved in 15 goals in his past 14 home league games in English football, scoring 10 and assisting another five. McBurnie scored in both of his two previous home league matches against Leicester as a Sheffield United player.

"Another concern about this team is that they get ahead and then they don't take games away from teams.

"The way that they controlled that first-half and played to what we saw in the second-half was night and day."

Former Foxes winger Matt Piper discusses Leicester City's fifth draw of the season, as they were held 1-1 by Portsmouth having let a first-half lead slip, and the concerns building around the team.

Includes a post-match interview with boss Marti Cifuentes.

Listen to the full post-match reaction and more Leicester City content on BBC Sounds.

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Leicester City head coach Marti Cifuentes says their second half showing against Portsmouth was not good enough as the Foxes drew again.

John Swift's equaliser cancelled out Aaron Ramsey's first Leicester goal as the Foxes suffered a fifth stalemate in six games.

And just like in the home game against Wrexham last month, Cifuentes' team could not capitalise on taking a first half lead to see the game out.

"We had a very good first half with a lot of good moments, a lot of good sequences of play," the Spaniard told BBC Radio Leicester.

"We spoke at half-time about the need of scoring one or two more goals because it doesn't matter how dominant you are in the Championship, the games can shift quick.

"The second half was not good. We tried to play too much centrally, we had some turnovers, we conceded some counter attacks and the goal was exactly like this.

"We had this attitude that I like, to chase until the end and we had these couple of good chances but we need to accept that the second half was not at the level we expected."

Leicester City winger Stephy Mavididi is "close" to a return after suffering a hamstring injury but remains a doubt for the game against Portsmouth on Saturday (19:45 BST).

The 27-year-old missed out on the side's most recent Championship match against Swansea and while boss Marti Cifuentes would love to have him back in the squad, the Spaniard does not want to rush a comeback and risk further injury.

"We are assessing. As always I like to sit with the medical, listen to them," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester.

"Stephy is a very important player for us. It would be good news, the sooner the better that he's back."

Listen to the full interview with Cifuentes and more Leicester City content on BBC Sounds.

Leicester City will look to edge closer to pace makers Coventry City on Saturday evening (19:45 BST) when they welcome Portsmouth.

The Foxes could go into second spot with a win should Middlesbrough fail to take all three points in their game against Ipswich on Friday.

Pompey do seem to have resolved their away day misery from last season though and will be looking for second win on the road.

However, with Leicester only seeing one loss so far this season, it'll be quite the task for the side to claim victory at the King Power.

• This will be the first league meeting between Leicester City and Portsmouth since 2011-12, with both games that season in the Championship ending 1-1.

• Portsmouth are unbeaten in their last two league visits to Leicester City (W1 D1), while they've scored on each of their last six trips (9 in total).

• Leicester City are unbeaten in their last six home league games (W4 D2), having lost nine in a row at the King Power Stadium beforehand. The Foxes last had a longer unbeaten home run between November 2023 and February 2024 (8 games).

• Since the start of last season, no Championship team has lost more away games than Portsmouth (16), while Pompey have the worst defensive record in that timeframe (53 goals conceded).

• Leicester's Abdul Fatawu has had 88 take-ons in the Championship so far this season – 51 more than any other player. He also leads the way for opposition half take-ons (74), fouls won after a take-on (8) and shots following a take-on (6).

"We have got to score a few more goals, and take a few more chances, that is probably what has halted us from winning a few more games.

"But it is a new manager, new ideas are coming into the squad, there are new players getting used to playing with each other. And if we can get a win on Saturday, we can crack on again with another six tough games before the next International break."

Former Leicester City defender Matt Heath joins Owynn Palmer-Atkin on the When You're Smiling podcast to preview The Foxes game against Portsmouth, following the international break.

Listen to the latest episode of When You're Smiling and more Leicester City content on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Leicester City forward Bobby De Cordova-Reid was among the scorers as Jamaica beat Bermuda 4-0 to move into pole position to qualify for the World Cup.

The 32-year-old scored the second goal in the 26th minute of the Concacaf qualifier in Kingston.

The win moves them one point clear at the top of their group with two games remaining and a win over second-placed Curacao in their next match on 18 November will see them qualify for next year's tournament.

De Cordova-Reid's goal is the sixth of his international career in 40 senior appearances.

Jamaica, who are managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, have only previously qualified for the World Cup on one occasion in 1998.

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

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So let's get back to proper football, shall we?

Leicester fans, how are we feeling after nine games and two international breaks? Third in the table, 16 points and only one loss.

Marti Cifuentes must be really glad he didn't turn down the club after being linked. What I mean by that is most managers, and I'm sure it is their agents earning their money, that were linked with Leicester recently haven't been doing that well.

How pleased were we that Russell Martin ended up at Rangers? 123 days, 17 matches, five wins, one league win meant the sack, and he became the shortest-serving permanent manager in Rangers' history.

Graham Potter, often looked at by our owner, only had six wins in 25 matches for West Ham and was sacked with the club in the relegation zone. They were 14th when he took over.

Danny Rohl, most fans' favourite for the job, remains unattached after his exit from Sheffield Wednesday, although he is in the running for Russell Martin's old job as well as a couple of German teams. It's telling that clubs are not beating their way to his door yet.

And let's not go into Sean Dyche or Gary O'Neill both of whom, like Rohl, despite links are both still out of a job.

The only manager linked that has finally got a job is Chris Wilder, who's managed Sheffield United more times than VAR has got a decision right. (Once in the FA Cup final of 2021).

So next time we complain that we only managed four draws out of four games just think of Bullseye.. here's what you could have had. Also, I think we would have dreamt of that form last season.

On a personal note, RIP Milan Mandaric. Saved our club and started the dream.

Listen to more from Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die., external

"If we don't attack down the wings, we look a little bit blunt. If the wingers aren't firing, we seem to not know what to do."

The When You're Smiling podcast team discuss what Leicester City have got on their to-do list before their return from the international break and who needs to feature over the next six games.

Listen to the latest episode of When You're Smiling and more Leicester City content on BBC Sounds.

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Gateshead have signed Leicester City forward Kian Pennant on a one-month loan deal.

The 21-year-old has been a regular in the Foxes' age-group sides and has played in the EFL Trophy, but this is the first loan move of his career.

The Heed have also signed Cheltenham Town defender Ibrahim Bakare on a loan deal running until early January 2026.

Bakare has made 35 senior appearances for Cheltenham since joining in the summer of 2024.

"I think this is going to be the tightest Championship for a long, long time and it is the team that breaks out, the team that goes on that run and gives themselves a little bit of distance between the others.

"For me, Leicester need a nine and a centre-half... but the rest of the team seem really strong, much stronger than any other team."

Former Leicester City coach and caretaker manager Mike Stowell joins Jack Rafferty as they reflect on the season so far and how the side can move forward.

Listen to the latest episode of When You're Smiling and more Leicester City content on BBC Sounds.

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Leicester City forward Jordan Ayew scored the 33rd goal of his international career to help take Ghana to the brink of qualifying for next year's World Cup.

The Black Stars' captain scored the fourth goal in a 5-0 thrashing of Central African Republic in Bangui on Wednesday.

The result leaves Ghana needing just one point from their final group game at home to Comoros on Sunday to secure their place in the 2026 tournament, while defeat would push them into a play-off place.

Ayew has scored seven goals in Ghana's qualifying campaign, in which they have lost just one game, going down 1-0 in Comoros in their second outing.

Molly Stephens
BBC Final Score reporter

Image source, Rex Features

Well, what a way to get your first win since August - and what a player Leicester have in Jordan James.

I spoke to many Leicester fans before the game at Swansea and the overwhelming judgement of Marti Cifuentes' side was that they can't score goals, and can't finish games off.

Well, there were some stunning goals on show on Saturday.

Leicester looked confident from the get-go and two players in particular demonstrated that in more ways than one.

Firstly, Jordan James. The 21-year-old looks like a transfer coup on loan from Rennes. He was superb and his wonderful strike into the top corner came just after he sent an effort over the bar, and he rifled the ball low off the post in the second half to very nearly score another.

The Wales international, who had already scored earlier in the week against Welsh opposition (Wrexham), did so again, in front of the watching Wales head coach Craig Bellamy, who'll be delighted to see James' commanding performances with matches against England and Belgium on the horizon.

Another 21-year-old, Abdul Fatawu, scored another goal of the day contender and then had the audacity to attempt a David Beckham-style effort from the halfway line, only to hit the crossbar. For me, it was just another glimpse of the confidence that Leicester showed throughout their performance.

Fatawu has been called up by Ghana and Cifuentes will be hoping he and James both come back unscathed.

"There was a clear and loud message sent by the manager and the players have really responded.

"It was a really good response and a great way to go into the international break. It's huge psychologically. In the end it could have been by a much wider margin. I don't think they deserved to win by two goals but it would have been nice.

"It's the best way going into the international break, it always feels an easier time. You can build on this."

On this week's When You're Smiling podcast, Conor O'Grady and former Leicester City forward Matty Fryatt reflect on the Foxes' win at Swansea to break a run of four straight draws.

They also react to boss Marti Cifuentes' post-match comments.

Listen to the full episode of When You're Smiling and more Leicester City on Sounds.