A win against Aston Villa on Saturday could propel Leicester City out of the Premier League’s relegation zone.
The Foxes will travel to Villa Park to take on Unai Emery’s in-form Villains in one of five upcoming and important Leicester matchups.
Getting the better of Villa has not been something Leicester City have done often in recent times. The Foxes have won just once in their last five Premier League matchups against this weekend’s opponents.
The Leicestershire-based side will take on Villa without the threat of their number 27 though. Morgan Rogers is suspended and will not be available for selection.
However, with the head-to-head form guide against him, Ruud van Nistelrooy must navigate his way past the Midlands giants without the help of five of his own first-team players.
Mad Hermansen unavailable for Leicester City ahead of Aston Villa
Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen is continuing his recovery from a groin injury. The Foxes’ number one remains sidelined with van Nistelrooy confirming he is out of Saturday’s match.
“Mads won’t be available,” the Leicester boss said at his press conference on Thursday.
“He’s been assessed over the last week. He’s in his rehab programme. We want him to be well, 100 per cent fit, before he comes back on the pitch. There’s not a clear picture yet of how long it will be, but he’ll be out for a couple of weeks at least.”
The Danish keeper is joined on the treatment table by four teammates.
Winger Kasey McAteer is not fit enough to make the trip to Birmingham, with Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring), Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) and Abdul Fatawu (knee) also sidelined.
Jordan Ayew is back and Wout Faes nears return
There is some good injury news though. Jordan Ayew is eligible to feature following his recent suspension whilst defender Wout Faes, who missed the past two fixtures, edging closer to returning from injury.
Faes is the likeliest to return of Leicester’s absentees – but it’s still not guaranteed he’ll be fit enough to face Emery’s side when the weekend rolls around.
The Belgian international has missed two matches through an unspecified injury, and has been a big miss for Van Nistelrooy,