Leicester City will be sweating on Portsmouth FC situation - Marti Cifuentes wanted to seal Foxes deal | OneFootball

Leicester City will hope Portsmouth's decision works in their favour

Leicester City are well in the promotion hunt at the October international break stage, having enjoyed the strongest start of the three relegated sides from the Premier League over Ipswich Town and Southampton.

The Foxes suffered relegation from the Premier League last season in limp fashion, becoming the first Premier League team to lose eight top-flight games in a row without scoring a single goal, making for a miserable atmosphere at the King Power Stadium come the end of the year.

Those fortunes appear to have changed back in the second-tier, despite a relatively quiet summer window. Marti Cifuentes was brought in from QPR to lead the side forward and he recruited Francisco Vieites, Aaron Ramsey, Jordan James, Julian Carranza and Asmir Begovic to help him with this task.

After nine matches, Leicester have failed to pick up points on just a single occasion, when they suffered defeat at Deepdale against Preston North End. Cifuentes side enjoyed victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Birmingham City during their opening four matches, before recording a quartet of successive draws.

The Foxes ended this run by defeating Swansea City on the road, but their inability to win is arguably the only thing preventing them from topping the table at this moment in time.

Leicester currently sit third in the standings, three points behind league leaders Coventry City and will feel confident about closing that gap across the rest of the season.

Up next is a home clash with Portsmouth and one key decision could impact how confident the Foxes approach their welcome of the Fratton Park outfit.

Leicester City will be eager to find out the latest on Josh Murphy’s Portsmouth fitness situation

Pompey have been consistent so far this season, picking up 12 points from their opening nine matches to sit 14th in the standings.

This start is made even more impressive when the fact that they have been without their best player for a large majority of it is taken into account.

Josh Murphy wowed the Championship last season in what was his first campaign with Portsmouth, scoring seven goals and providing 14 assists in 42 second-tier appearances, announcing himself as one of the division’s deadliest forwards.

The 30-year-old has struggled to make a similar impact this season though, with a number of injury issues limiting him to just four games thus far.

Murphy's fitness hangs in the balance ahead of Portsmouth's trip to Leicester on Saturday, and the Foxes will be crossing their fingers that the attacker isn’t risked for the clash. Pompey boss John Mousinho is hopeful that Murphy will be available, although it's still an uncertain situation at this moment in time.

The forward’s presence automatically makes Pomepy a more difficult prospect to tackle, with his ability attracting a number of admirers at the King Power Stadium.

It was reported during the late stages of the summer window that Leicester were pushing to sign Murphy and that he was Cifuentes “number one” target at one point.

That move never materialised, but the interest highlights just how highly those within the Foxes’ camp respect Pompey’s standout attacker, who has since signed a new contract on the south coast.

Therefore, they will be hoping that Murphy isn’t fully fit for Pompey’s upcoming visit and that they don’t have to deal with his threat on the wing.

Leicester City should have enough quality to defeat Portsmouth

Even if Portsmouth decide to deploy Murphy on the day, Leicester City should still have too much quality for John Mousinho’s side to deal with.

The Foxes have gotten into their rhythm a lot quicker than the other two sides that were relegated from the Premier League and are right up there in the fight for promotion.

Attackers such as Abdul Fatawu and Jeremy Monga have enough talent to rip any Championship defence to shreds, so Pompey’s backline will have to be on top form to escape with a result.

A midfielder duo of James and Harry Winks is up there with the division’s best, so it will be equally tough for Portsmouth to try and compete in the middle of the park.

If Leicester perform at their best, they should have too much quality in front of their home supporters for Pompey to deal with, even if Murphy is given the all clear. However, Cifuentes and Co. would likely much prefer facing a Portsmouth side without the standout forward.