- Youri Tielemans says Leicester City have confidence in their ability, following a fine start to 2019/20
- The Belgium international has helped the Foxes climb up to third in the Premier League standings after 10 matches
- City face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday (2pm kick-off)
A trio of victories for the Foxes in the space of 11 days have seen them maintain their excellent start to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, while they have also booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
A clash with Roy Hodgson’s men awaits City on Sunday, and Tielemans, who has three goals and two assists to his name in the league this term, believes the fixture provides his side with the opportunity to build on their fruitful early-season form.
“One game to another can change,” Tielemans told LCFC.com. “We are in a very positive mood and we are very confident about ourselves. We’ve won now three games in a row – Burnley, Southampton and Burton.
“We’re very good, but they are very good as well. They’ve just drawn at Arsenal, so they’re fully confident in their abilities and their game. It will be a tough game on Sunday, because they’re playing at home.
“I’ve never been to Selhurst Park, but I can only speak about when I’ve been watching on TV, and it looks like an old stadium where the fans are really close to the pitch, which makes a really good atmosphere.
“These are the games where you, let’s say, need to win in a season if you really want to compete with the biggest teams.”
An international team-mate of Christian Benteke, and having played alongside Cheikhou Kouyaté while at Anderlecht, Tielemans is well aware of the strengths that Crystal Palace possess.
He said: “I know Christian, and I know Kouyaté as well. I played with him in my first professional season, so he was my mate in midfield. Afterwards, he went to West Ham and now he’s at Palace.
“Like in every game, I will try and give 100 per cent. When I play a game of football, I don’t look at the names who I’m playing against. I just play my game and think about me, our team and how we want to play. That’s how we want to play all the time.
“They have a good team and they have a good balance of older players and younger players. They are confident, they are playing at him and they have an advantage of being at home on Sunday, but we are very confident as well and we want to continue competing at the top of the table.
“It will be a very good game, and of course, I hope we win.”
All times GMT.