Talking Heads: Rodgers, Carvalhal, Mendy & Esgaio Preview Thursday's Braga Clash
- Leicester City entertain SC Braga in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (8pm GMT kick-off)
- Both City and Braga have won their opening two matches in Group G
- Brendan Rodgers and Papy Mendy addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon
- Carlos Carvalhal and Ricardo Esgaio also discussed the visit to Leicester City Stadium
City sit second in the Premier League - and top of Group G - while Braga are third in Portugal's Primeira Liga and are level on points with the Foxes in the Europa League.
Ahead of the meeting of two sides with 100 per cent European records still intact, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers and Papy Mendy addressed the media, while Carlos Carvalhal and Ricardo Esgaio were on duty for Braga.
Brendan Rodgers said, on Wednesday: "Braga have a good history in the competition, they've been consistently in it. They've started the season well, they've won four of their six games, with the other two being draws. So, like I say, with most teams at this level, they're used to winning, that's why they arrive in the competition in the first place. But Braga is a team with experience. [They've] got really good players and, yes, we've watched them closely as a staff and we're very impressed by how they play."
Braga manager Carlos Carvalhal told the media: "The game is going to be difficult and Leicester are a difficult team to contain. That’s why they scored five goals against Manchester City, four goals against Leeds. It will be difficult to play against them. I believe Leicester are a team which has balance, a very good squad, a big squad with a lot of quality. Like any other football team in the world, they will have their weaknesses."
Foxes midfielder Papy Mendy on Leicester's squad depth: "We have a lot of options and the manager can put me or, for example, Hamza Choudhury [in]. Yes, everyone can perform and that's good for the team. I hope we continue it. What the manager wants is very clear. 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."
Visiting defender Ricardo Esgaio on City: "Leicester are a very strong team and they will be playing at home, but we know about our own quality and what we want. We believe that we can win the game and we want to win this game. We know what we can do. We’ll look to exploit any weaknesses in the Leicester team. We’ll play our game, which has been going very well recently, and we won’t change. We look to play our way, impose our philosophy and idea of the game."