The Lowdown: City's Next Premier League Opponents, Southampton
Following back-to-back league victories at King Power Stadium over West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, the Foxes travel to the south coast to face a Saints side who they defeated in the Emirates FA Cup Semi-Final earlier this month.
Ahead of the two teams' latest meeting, LCFC.com takes a look at Ralph Hasenhüttl's Southampton outfit, including their squad, recent form and upcoming fixtures...
The team
After an 11th-place finish in 2019/20, there was little summer upheaval at St. Mary's Stadium, as the spine of the side remained from the last campaign, with the exception of Tottenham-bound midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.
There is plenty of English talent within their ranks, such as Alex McCarthy, Ryan Bertrand, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond and Danny Ings.
Ings remains the club's top scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals to his name in 25 games, following 22 goals in 2019/20, which meant he narrowly missed out on the Premier League Golden Boot to Jamie Vardy.
The England forward is the only player to have hit double figures for Southampton this term, although Scotland striker Che Adams and set piece specialist Ward-Prowse are not far behind with seven strikes each.
Ward-Prowse has also registered six assists, which places the midfielder at the summit of the club's assists chart, whilst making the joint-most Premier League appearances for the Saints this season (32), alongside centre-back Jan Bednarek.
Southampton strengthened their English contingent in the summer with the permanent signing of Kyle Walker-Peters and the return of Theo Walcott, 14 years after he left the club to join Arsenal.
The Saints also bolstered their attacking options further in the January transfer window with the loan signing of Liverpool midfielder Takumi Minamino and the Japan international has since contributed two goals in his first six league appearances for the club.
The manager
Former Austria international striker Ralph Hasenhüttl joined the Saints in December 2018, following spells in charge of German sides SpVgg Unterhaching, VfR Aalen, FC Ingolstadt 04 and Red Bull Leipzig.
He won promotion with both Aalen and Ingolstadt, while Hasenhüttl also led Leipzig to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga during his debut season as their manager, runners-up to Bayern Munich.
As a player, at Austria Wien, he won the Austrian Bundesliga three times, and the Austrian Cup twice, while he also picked up another league and cup trophy in his home nation with Austria Salzburg shortly after.
During his playing career, he played for his hometown club Grazer AK, based in Graz, Belgian outfits Mechelen and Lierse, and German sides FC Cologne, SpVgg Greuther Fürth and finally Bayern Munich II.
Following a 16th-place finish in 2018/19, Southampton made a significant improvement the next campaign, finishing 11th in the Premier League standings, remaining unbeaten in their final seven fixtures, including a 1-0 home victory over Manchester City.
Form guide
Southampton occupy 15th position in the top flight table, with 36 points from their 32 games, after a topsy-turvy season which, at one stage, saw the Saints at the Premier League's summit
There have been some memorable results to date, including recording a 1-0 win over the reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, when Danny Ings found the net against his former club.
Ralph Hasenhüttl's side also enjoyed a seven-game unbeaten run, which included a 3-3 draw at Chelsea and coming out on the right side of a 4-3 thriller against Aston Villa.
During their last home fixture, Southampton came from two goals down to defeat Burnley 3-2 thanks to goals from Stuart Armstrong, Ings and Nathan Redmond. However, the south coast outfit have since lost back-to-back matches, beaten 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion, before a 2-1 away defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
Previous encounters
Leicester took all three points from the last Premier League meeting between the two sides, at King Power Stadium in January 2021. James Maddison's first-half opener was followed by Harvey Barnes' late second, to wrap up a 2-0 victory for the Foxes.
Brendan Rodgers' side also came out on top in the Emirates FA Semi-Final meeting at Wembley Stadium on 18 April as Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the game to seal progression into the Final.
One of City's most memorable visits to Southampton's home of St. Mary's Stadium, meanwhile, came in October 2019 when the Club equalled a 24-year record for the biggest-ever Premier League victory.
Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Pérez netted hat-tricks in the 9-0 success over the Saints, which also broke the record for the biggest away win in the top flight.
Southampton's most recent triumph in the fixture, however, came in January 2020. The Foxes took the lead via Dennis Praet's 14th-minute strike before Stuart Armstrong hit back for the Saints and Danny Ings scored a late winner.
The trophy cabinet
Southampton’s most significant honour came in 1976, when they lifted the FA Cup, following a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, thanks to a solitary strike from Bobby Stoke with seven minutes to play.
In 1984, they finished as runners-up in England’s top flight, finishing just three points behind Liverpool, while they won the third tier in 1960.
Their back-to-back promotions in 2010/11 and 2011/12 eventually led to them making a return to the Premier League after a seven-season absence.
Immediately prior to that recent success, they won the EFL Trophy by beating Carlisle United at Wembley Stadium in front of over 73,000 fans in March 2010.
The stadium
St. Mary’s Stadium was opened in August 2001, replacing the Dell – an iconic ground which the Saints played at for over a century. With over 32,500 seats, it has a slightly higher capacity than King Power Stadium, and has played host to four senior England internationals.
The first saw the Three Lions draw 2-2 with Macedonia in 2002, while victories over Norway, Italy and Kosovo have also taken place on the same turf.
The fixtures
Next up, Southampton visit Anfield to take on Liverpool on Saturday 8 May (3pm kick-off), before hosting Fulham at St. Mary's Stadium on Wednesday 12 May (7:45pm kick-off).
The league calendar concludes with another home game, against Leeds United on Saturday 15 May (3pm kick-off), followed by tackling West Ham United at London Stadium on the final day of the season.
All times BST.