Meet the opposition | Leicester City
As Swansea City prepare to face Leicester City, we take a closer look at the Foxes.
What’s their story?
The Foxes are back in the Championship for the first time since 2014, after an unforgettable eight-year stint in the top-flight came to an end when they were relegated at the end of last term.
The East Midlands club upset the odds to win the Premier League title in 2016, and went on to enjoy a march to the quarter-finals the following season before being knocked out by Atletico Madrid.
They went on to win the FA Cup in 2021, beating Chelsea in the final at Wembley.
Formed in 1884 as Leicester Fosse FC, they moved to Filbert Street in 1891 before being elected to the Football League in 1894.
Leicester were top-flight runners-up in 1929, and are three-time League Cup winners following their triumphs in 1964, 1997 and 2000.
How’s their form?
Strong. Leicester are leading the way in the Championship and are seven points clear of the chasing pack.
They have lost just one of their last 14 games in all competitions, with that solitary defeat coming against Coventry City. They have only lost two home games in the Championship this season.
Who’s the gaffer?
Enzo Maresca. The Italian took charge at the King Power Stadium during the summer, having left his position as a first-team coach at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, helping the Citizens win the treble last term.
The 43-year-old was a midfielder in his playing days, having been on the books of AC Milan as a youngster.
His senior career took in stints with West Bromwich Albion, Juventus, Bologna, Piacenza, Fiorentina, Sevilla, Olympiacos, Malaga, Sampdoria, Palermo and Hellas Verona, while he also won caps at under-21 level for his country.
He won the Seria A title and Supercoppa with Juventus, and was a Copa del Rey and two-time Uefa Cup winner with Sevilla.
Maresca was on the coaching staffs with Ascoli, Sevilla and West Ham before joining Manchester City, where he led their under-23s to the Premier League 2 title before going to Parma.
But he returned to City in June 2022.
Who’s the captain?
Jamie Vardy. The veteran striker has been with the Foxes since 2012 and has 178 goals to his name in 448 appearances.
Snapped up from Fleetwood Town in 2012, he scored 16 goals as Leicester secured promotion from the Championship.
He went on to score 24 goals in all competitions on the way to Premier League glory in 2016 and has always been a reliable source of goals with his pace and movement behind defences.
Vardy won 26 caps and scored seven goals for his country.
Prior to his time at Fleetwood, he had spells on the books of Sheffield Wednesday, Stocksbridge Park Steels and Halifax Town.
Who are the key men?
Attacking midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been one of the shining lights of Leicester’s excellent start to the Championship season, and has been linked with a move to the Premier League during the January transfer window.
The 25-year-old has already racked up nine goals and nine assists for the Foxes, filling the absence left by the summer sale of James Maddison.
A Leicester academy graduate, Dewsbury-Hall made his senior debut for the Foxes in an FA Cup tie at Brentford in 2020 before going out on loan to Blackpool for the remainder of that curtailed campaign.
A strong spell with Luton followed the next season, and made 40 appearances for the Hatters.
He returned to Leicester and has seen regular first-team action since, making 111 appearances and scoring 14 goals.
Midfielder Harry Winks made the move to the King Power Stadium from Tottenham last summer, ending a 21-year stint on the books of the London club.
Now 27, Winks joined Tottenham at the age of five and worked his way through the academy ranks to make a senior debut against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League in 2014.
A further 202 appearances followed, including in the 2019 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.
Winks spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Sampdoria, before making the move down to the Championship with the Foxes.
He has won 10 England caps since making his debut in 2017.
The 31-year-old Danish defender Jannik Vestergaard has been with Leicester since the summer of 2021, having joined from Southampton.
After spending much of his youth career in his homeland, Vestergaard began his senior career with Hoffenheim’s second team before graduating to the first team.
He went on to join Werder Bremen in 2015 before moving on to Borussia Monchengladbach a year later.
Vestergaard signed for Southampton in 2018 and had three strong years with the Saints, attracting the interest of a number of clubs before opting for a move to the King Power Stadium.
He was demoted to the under-21s at the end of last season, but has returned and been a regular this term.