Petty: Stern Test Awaits Against PL2 Champions
- Leicester City’s Development Squad meet Manchester City on Monday (7pm kick-off)
- Ben Petty previews the encounter with the Premier League 2 Division 1 leaders
- The Foxes have been in good form, unbeaten in four after a 1-1 draw with Arsenal
- The game will be broadcast live on LCFC TV from LCFC Training Ground at 6:45pm
The Foxes tackle Brian Barry-Murphy’s side in a 7pm kick-off at LCFC Training Ground, with the Premier League 2 Division 1 encounter set to be broadcast live on LCFC TV from 6:45pm.
Leicester’s own form has been impressive of late, winning three consecutive games ahead of last week’s draw with Arsenal, which extended the unbeaten run to four matches.
The youngsters have amassed 26 points from their 18 fixtures played in 2021/22, sitting ninth in the current standings, though are just three points away from fifth place with games in hand.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, Petty referenced the need to maintain the high-performance level produced in recent weeks to take anything from the game, especially given the Manchester side’s record as the division’s highest scorers, as well as boasting the joint-strongest defence.
Maswanhise Strikes Again In Arsenal Draw
Tawanda Mawanhise's third goal in three games helped Leicester City's Development Squad record a 1-1 draw with Arsenal Under-23s in Premier League 2 on Monday.
The coach told LCFC.com: “We’ve looked at some teamwork and getting them prepared for Monday night. We’ve had a good week on the training ground and some sessions over the weekend to get ourselves organised for that and be at our best on Monday.
“Hopefully we’ll keep up the good work against a very good Manchester City team. We’ve got to keep on moving up. We keep showing confidence and the development and, playing against top sides, I think the lads are starting to believe in themselves a lot more.
“Monday is going to be even tougher against Manchester City, so that will be a great test for us. It’s another opportunity to see how far we’ve come over the course of the season. We have picked up some good results and the performances have been good.”
The Citizens reached a half century of goals scored in last week’s 2-0 triumph over West Ham United, which opened up a seven-point gap to the Hammers at the league’s summit. Another clean sheet means no side have conceded less goals (27).
Petty believes it is a good time for Leicester's youngsters to test themselves against a quality team and assessed their progress since the last time they met earlier in the campaign – a 5-0 success for Man City in Manchester.
“There’s never a bigger test than against the champions,” the 44-year-old admitted. “And obviously they are likely to win it again this year. I think they’ve got the best side and they’ve got some very good players, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“They are an outstanding side. We played them earlier at the Etihad complex in the season and they have got some exceptional players and they mirror their first team in the way they play.
“We had periods of that game where we did reasonably well and, unfortunately on the night, we ran into Cole Palmer, who scored a stunning hat-trick and that can happen when you play against the best teams.
“What we’ve got to make sure we do on Monday night is defend really, really well. Get our press right and try to stop Man City’s good attacking play as much as we can and then try and instil our style of play on the game. It’s going to be very tough, but it’s a challenge that the lads are ready for.”
After several players secured loan moves away from the Club, the Under-23s squad for the remainder of the season is starting to take shape, with a healthy competition for places emerging among the in-form side.
“Our group now is very settled,” Petty added. “There’s 15, 16 players vying for that starting XI. We’ve got good competition from the bench. Terell [Pennant] and Fitzy (Ethan Fitzhugh) did really well when they came on on Monday.
“It all depends how the lads recover from the Youth Cup on Thursday, and hopefully we’ll have a settled team and we’ll be ready to go.”