Leicester & Braga Prepared For Filbert Way Showdown
Over previous weeks, the two sides, from England and Portugal, have been locked on the same quantity of points after each matchday with both sealing victories over Zorya Luhansk and AEK Athens.
With the Foxes currently edging top spot in Group G, Brendan Rodgers' men head into the fixture in stellar form, winning their last four games in all competitions and placing second in the Premier League.
Braga, on the other hand, also approach Thursday's clash on Filbert Way riding a wave of enthusiasm, with Monday's 1-0 home success over Famalicão representing their sixth victory on the bounce.
A day prior to Thursday's game, familiar scenes unfolded at Belvoir Drive, where Rodgers' side took part in their final training session before the Northern Irishman followed midfielder Papy Mendy in addressing the media via video call.
"What the manager wants is very clear," said Mendy before Rodgers spoke shortly after. "When he puts sessions on, we work a lot in the training and after it is very easy to translate on the pitch at the weekend.
"At the moment, we have had good results, what he has put on the team is very good. Now we have to keep going.”
"They are all tough games but Braga have a good history in the competition and have started the season well," Rodgers explained. "They’ve won four of their six games, and the other two have been draws.
"Like most teams at this level, they are used to winning. Braga are a team with experience, they have really good players. We have watched them closely and have been very impressed."
Like City, Carlos Carvalhal's Os Arcebispos, Europa League runners-up in 2011, are looking good domestically, sitting third in Portugal's Primeira Liga, four points adrift of leaders Sporting Lisbon.
And after landing in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, former Swansea City manager Carvalhal spoke to the media, alongside defender Ricardo Esgaio, ahead of open training at Leicester City Stadium in the evening.
Commenting on the nature of Braga's fixture calendar, Esgaio said: "It’s true, there are a lot of games coming one after another, and it’s important we work well in recovery.
"The players feel this as we work at maximum intensity with all of our efforts. A lot of the work of the players in this team is the invisible effort that you don’t see."
Carvalhal, meanwhile, spoke of their attempts to contain Leicester: "Leicester are a team with a lot of strong points, and collectively they are very strong. That's a big compliment to Brendan Rodgers, who is without a doubt one of the best British managers at the moment.
"They're very organised, so they have a lot of individual quality. They have a very good first XI, but also, they have a lot of reserves to come into the starting XI to come in and play at the same level."
Full coverage of the match will be available on LCFC Radio from 6:30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off in Leicester as both sides attempt to make it three wins from three in Group G.
All times GMT.