Foxes Fly To Denmark After Training & Media Duties
The second leg of the Foxes’ knockout round play-off against Randers FC commences this week (5:45pm GMT kick-off), with Brendan Rodgers' outfit holding a 4-1 aggregate lead over their Danish opponents, courtesy of a comprehensive first-leg victory at Leicester City Stadium.
Ahead of travelling to Randers Stadium, captain Kasper Schmeichel was on pre-match press conference duties, speaking to the press from inside the King Power Centre in Seagrave.
A Denmark native who helped his country to the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2020 in the summer, City’s No.1 revealed that he has some great memories from playing international football there and is looking forward to returning to Denmark with the Foxes, while being fully focused on the task in hand.
“I’ve never really had that many opportunities to play at home in Denmark,” the 35-year-old said. “So, any opportunity that I get to go home and play there, it’s something I always look forward to.
“It’s great to be able to have people who are not usually able to watch us play to give them the opportunity to see us.
“Focus is on the next game. We’ll take whatever happens after that game if we do go through. We’ll take what comes, but we have to get through first. We have a good starting point, but we’d be foolish to take anything for granted."
Next up, it was manager Rodgers’ turn to address the media, firstly revealing the injury concerns within the squad, ahead of fine-tuning final preparations on the training pitch and perfecting the tactical strategies that will be put in place for their first visit to Randers' 10,300-capacity stadium.
He was also keen to highlight the need for another assured performance on Thursday, in order to confirm progression into the last 16 of the competition. He and the squad will not be taking the hosts lightly, despite taking a sizeable aggregate lead over to Denmark.
The Northern Irishman told the media: “For us, it’s about playing our game and our football with that aggression and tempo and looking to create lots of chances. I think it will be a more aggressive game so we’ll have to be ready for that.
“They want to be competitive and show that they can challenge us, so we have to be ready for that. They have some good players if we let them play, so we have to be really hungry and forget about the scoreline.
“We've just got to get through this game, into the last-16, and work our way through the rounds. There are some very good teams in it so we have to concentrate on ourselves really and get the job done."
Soon heading off for a team meeting, followed by open training in crisp conditions, there were welcome returns to training for Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes and Wesley Fofana, who have each undergone various lengths of rehabilitation periods.
Vardy has not featured since 28 December due to a hamstring issue. Barnes has been a much shorter absentee, also due to a hamstring strain, while Fofana trained recently for the first time since suffering a fractured fibula in August.
The return of all three players will no doubt be a welcome boost for Rodgers' Foxes, who are approaching the final three months of the 2021/22 season. City’s squad and staff then departed for Denmark’s Jutland region, just over 24 hours before the Foxes take to the field at Randers Stadium.
Tackling the Scandanavian outfit for the second time in as many weeks, they embarked on a mid-afternoon journey from the United Kingdom, flying to Scandinavia on Wednesday, as the second leg draws closer.
Both the first team players and Club officials will arrive at their hotel later in the day, fully focused on securing a place in the last-16 of the newly formed European competition.
They will be backed in person by around 600 travelling members of the Blue Army and Foxes fans will no doubt be hoping for a similar performance and result to that dominant first leg display come Thursday evening.
For now, Leicester are fully equipped for the challenge awaiting in the second leg of their first-ever Europa Conference League tie.