Barnes: Full Focus On Getting The Job Done
- Leicester City and Chelsea are set for Premier League action at King Power Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm GMT kick-off)
- Midfielder Harvey Barnes credits the Blues for their dedication to developing English prospects
- The 22-year-old says City can take confidence from the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge back in August
- It is the role of all players, including those in attacking positions, to contribute to Leicester's defensive efforts, Barnes says
Ahead of Saturday, City and Chelsea have deployed youthful starting line-ups so far in 2019/20 and both sides currently occupy berths in the Premier League's top four places.
Back in August, Wilfred Ndidi equalised an opener from Mason Mount in a 1-1 draw between the clubs at Stamford Bridge, but the Foxes created several chances to win it.
Barnes, 22, says Leicester can take confidence from their performance in the capital six months ago against a squad of players he knows well from representing England at youth level.
"I remember that game at Chelsea, we went a goal down, but in the second half we showed as a side how we can play and we were dominant," the Academy graduate said.
"We were unlucky at the end not to come away with all three points, but we’ve definitely showed against some of the teams around us that we can more than match them.
"From England squads, I’ve been playing with and against some of them since I was young. They’ve gone through a similar pathway to Leicester in recent years.
"They’re playing a lot of the younger lads, which is really good to see from them, but it’ll be good to see some of them.
"There’s still a lot of football to play, a lot of points to play for, so we need to make sure that we’re 100 per cent focused and make sure, results-wise, we’re where we want to be.
"It’s a big fixture, though, so we’ll have full focus on getting the job done and then you can say hello and whatnot after the game."
Barnes also hailed the impact made by midfielder Ndidi within City's tactical framework, while also underlining the importance of everyone to the team's defensive efforts.
Ndidi is second in the Premier League's tackling charts this season, one place beneath Foxes colleague Ricardo Pereira, and Barnes says his role is a crucial one.
"He goes under the radar a bit with what he does for the side, but he’s a massive figure for us," he continued. "He does a lot of work for other lads in the team.
"He can't do what Vards (Jamie Vardy) can do, but vice versa, he can’t do Wilf’s job. He does have a very important role in the side and it’s great to have him back in the team.
"It you look at the back four and Wilf, we can’t go and score goals, but also, the manager makes it very clear that a lot of our defensive work starts from the front.
"We know, as attacking players, we’ve got to have our press spot on, working as hard as we can defensively, otherwise we’re not going to have that joy going forwards."