All Eyes On Eindhoven As Leicester Conclude PSV Preparations
Following a goalless stalemate in Leicester last week, the two-legged tie is finely poised ahead of what promises to be a thrilling final chapter in Eindhoven. PSV are second in their native Eredivisie league, four points adrift of Ajax, who they face in the final of the KNVB Cup in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Before an open training session at the Club's world-class headquarters in Seagrave, in front of the watching media, Wednesday morning also included press commitments for manager Brendan Rodgers and captain Kasper Schmeichel inside the King Power Centre.
Many journalists dialled in remotely from airports and Eindhoven itself, while others were able to fit a visit to LCFC Training Ground around their travel plans for one of the biggest games of City's season so far. Schmeichel, a veteran of Leicester's recent European campaigns, was up first on the top table.
“I expect a tough game," the 35-year-old said. "They’re second in the league, only a few points behind Ajax. It’ll be an amazing atmosphere. It’ll be tough but we’ve been in tough situations before. We came into a cauldron at Rennes and we rose to the occasion.
“There was a lot of noise and an expectant crowd and I expect tomorrow will be no different. We’ll approach tomorrow like any other game and the expectations we set for ourselves couldn’t really be any higher.”
Rodgers, on the other hand, outlined Leicester's intent to take the game to PSV and play with a positive mindset at the 35,000-capacity PSV Stadion.
“We’ll go with a real positive mentality and look to play our game," he explained. "It’s all to play for. It’s really important to be aggressive and to keep up this strong mentality that we have at the moment. We go with no fear.
"We’re used to playing in big games in our domestic league and we’ll go away really looking forward to it. To be the first to do anything is always nice. We had that feeling with the FA Cup. This is a great opportunity for us.”
Grey skies then greeted the first team squad on the training pitches in Seagrave, beneath the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Building, where the final touches were applied to their match stratagem. A light lunch followed, before City's players embarked onto the Club's plane for a short flight to north-west Europe.
Located in the south of the Netherlands, Eindhoven is the latest stop on the Blue Army's European tour. Around 1,500 Foxes fans will be in the country's fifth-largest city to see Leicester's next continental outing. A bustling and modern city, Eindhoven is a stylish hub for Holland's design industry borne out of the 20th century.
Later on Wednesday, PSV's own media duties were fulfilled at their home venue, with manager Roger Schmidt expecting a close game between two evening matched sides. The German says home advantage, at a venue where his side have won 12 of their 15 league matches, will be key.
"We are happy to be in three competitions at this point of the season," he told the media. "Of course, you always hope in these moments that you have the best requirements for decisive games. We have some injuries, but nevertheless, we are looking forward.
"I think we showed already in Leicester that we deserve to play this quarter-final. Leicester’s a top team, they showed that last Thursday. I expect tomorrow to be a close game and we need a very good balance. We want to use our home advantage to attack but we need a very clear tactical plan for our defence."