Group Stage's Final Act Looms After Busy Wednesday For City & AEK
Already qualified for the Round of 32 and currently fourth in the Premier League, it's been an encouraging start to 2020/21 for Brendan Rodgers' men, but top spot in Group G is the target now.
A win would certainly achieve that feat on Filbert Way on Thursday evening, but simply bettering SC Braga's result, at home to Zorya Luhansk, would also suffice for the Foxes.
The day began with a preparatory training session at a crisp Belvoir Drive, which included Timothy Castagne and Çağlar Söyüncü working alongside their team-mates as part of their recoveries from injury.
Media duties soon took precedence, however, with 2015/16 Premier League champion Marc Albrighton - a hero of City's subsequent run to the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals - first on the top table.
Now in his seventh season at the Club, the former Aston Villa midfielder is all too aware of Leicester's penchant for achieving incredible, odds-defying success and is hopeful of writing a new chapter this season.
"I do think that the Europa League is going to be special this year,” he told the media. “We’re looking to do really well in it and go as far as we can. That, in itself, will create special moments during games.
“We’ve got that platform and opportunity there to create something special and put ourselves further in Leicester folklore.”
After discussing a range of topics, including his own playing position this term and City's chances on several fronts, Albrighton soon made way for his manager, who also fielded questions over Zoom.
Rodgers is embarking on his second full campaign on Filbert Way and, following the Club's second best-ever Premier League performance in 2019/20, the Northern Irishman is keen to develop the squad further.
“Of course, my challenge here was to try and get Leicester up into the top echelons of the league and hopefully that would allow us to play in Europe," the former Liverpool and Celtic manager explained.
“In our first full season, we’ve been able to do that. It’s always easy to do things once, it’s about if you can do it the second time. That’s what’s in the forefront of my mind.”
While Rodgers retreated back into the corridors at Belvoir Drive to consult with his backroom team about how best to tackle AEK, the Greek outfit were looking ahead to open training at Leicester City Stadium.
Before they set foot on the turf on Filbert Way, manager Massimo Carrera and Iranian forward Karim Ansarifard sat down in the media workroom to themselves address the world's media via virtual means.
Carrera, a former team-mate of Antonio Conte at Juventus and a winner of managerial honours in his homeland Italy and Russia, was first to speak, answering questions about AEK's recent downturn in form.
The Athens club have suffered successive defeats in the Europa League, while also losing out to bitter city rivals Panathinaikos at the Athens Olympic Stadium last time out in the Greek Super League.
“In the two Europa League games, we committed individual errors,” he explained. “This can happen in football. In the game against Panathinaikos, we didn’t start the game with the right approach.
“It was a derby, it doesn’t matter if they are above or below us in the standings, we should have showed a fighting spirit, which we didn’t. We watched the game as a squad yesterday and we’ve worked in training.
“Tomorrow is a time to show we are on the right track.”
Iranian forward Ansarifard, on the other hand, echoed his manager's sentiments, stressing the importance of performing well in AEK's forthcoming matches to restore pride after a difficult run of fixtures.
“We are focused on the game,” he said on Filbert Way. “Of course, there was a discussion between the players and the whole AEK family. We didn't show a fighting spirit in the game (vs. Panathinaikos) but I think it was a good lesson for us.
“We are prepared to work hard again and show how strong we are, like in the previous matches, to show that AEK is a big club. Everybody is ready to work hard.”
After the completion of their media commitments, Ansarifard and Carrera rejoined the travelling party from Greece for an open training session on the pitch at Leicester City Stadium.
At a similar time, meanwhile, Foxes supporters based in Athens, members of the Hellenic Foxes fan group, enjoyed a laid-back conversation with Foxes legends Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart ahead of the game over video call.
As well learning they would be sent a Leicester City shirt, signed by the 2020/21 squad, the group members were able to ask Elliott and Taggart about their times at the Club, which coincided with a halcyon time to be a City fan.
Recalling Greece's UEFA EURO success in 2004, which featured former Fox and AEK man Theo Zagorakis, Elliott remembered: “We all watched it together at Leicester City! We watched on with pride, watching Theo win it.
“Greece did amazingly well. Theo got Player of the Tournament and we were so pleased for him. He was genuinely such a lovely lad and a good team-mate to be around.”
Don't forget, you'll be able to listen to live and free coverage of Thursday's clash with AEK Athens on LCFC Radio as Matchday Live goes to air on @LCFC social media and LCFC.com from 6:30pm GMT.