Leicestershire

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Defender Jannik Vestergaard and midfielder Boubakary Soumare will be available for Leicester's match at Championship leaders Coventry on Saturday lunchtime, according to head coach Marti Cifuentes.

Vestergaard went off injured during last weekend's FA Cup third round win at Cheltenham while Soumare has been out since the end of November with a knee injury.

"He [Vestergaard] just twisted and rolled his ankle but he's good, training with the team and ready for Saturday," Cifuentes told BBC Radio Leicester.

"Bouba [Soumare] has been training with the group, doing well, recovering from his injury and will be available as well."

Leicester have won two of their past three league games but are still without the long-term injured trio of Victor Kristiansen, Harry Souttar and Aaron Ramsey.

Coventry head into Saturday's game (12:30 GMT) looking to avoid going three games without a league win for the third time this season.

Leicester are aiming for back-to-back league victories, also for the third time this season as the look to climb back into the Championship's top 10.

• Coventry have won just one of their past nine league games against Leicester (D5 L3). That sole victory came in this exact fixture in the 2023-24 season (3-1).

• Leicester have won just one of their past eight away league games against Coventry (D5 L2), winning 1-0 on the opening day of the 2011-12 season.

• Coventry have won just two of their past eight Championship matches (D3 L3) and since the start of December they have won the joint 15th most points (9) and only four teams have scored fewer goals than the Sky Blues (7).

• Leicester have not kept a clean sheet in any of their past 20 Championship matches, the longest ongoing run of any side. It is their worst run outside the top flight since going 27 without a shutout between September 1948 and April 1949.

• Coventry's Matt Grimes has created the most chances in the Championship this season (57), with 36 of those from set plays which is 14 more than any other player. He also ranks second, behind Stoke's Sorba Thomas, for passes played into the opposition penalty area (228).

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Sheffield United striker Patrick Bamford and Norwich forward Jovon Makama have been nominated for the Championship's player of the month award for December along with Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen and Leicester midfielder Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Bamford signed an 18-month contract with Sheffield United earlier this month having initially joined on a short-term deal in November.

The 32-year-old has scored six goals in 11 appearances for the Blades, including four in December.

Norwich's Makama is the Canaries' leading scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions.

He scored twice in a victory over Southampton last month, once in a draw at Preston and the winner against Charlton - those goals worth a valuable seven points to a relegation-threatened Norwich side.

Iversen has kept eight clean sheets for Preston so far this season and vital saves against the leaders Coventry and Stoke in December helped the Lilywhites into fourth place.

With four goals in six games, meanwhile, De Cordova-Reid had a prolific December for Leicester as he scored in three successive matches.

The winner will be announced on Friday, 16 January.

Image source, Opta

Coventry City resume their quest for Championship promotion following their FA Cup exit as they host Leicester City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Despite picking up just nine points from their eight league games before last Saturday's third round defeat at Stoke, the Sky Blues still have a six-point lead over second-placed Middlesbrough, with third-placed Ipswich a further two points back.

The Foxes are 12th, four points below the play-off places, and though they snatched a win over West Brom in their most recent league game on 5 January, they have taken just one point from their past three away games - they did win on the road at League Two Cheltenham in the FA Cup on Saturday, however.

• Coventry City have won just one of their past nine league games against Leicester City (D5 L3), though that victory came in the most recent clash between the sides at the CBS Arena in January 2024 (3-1).

• Leicester City have won just one of their past eight away league games against Coventry City (D5 L2), winning 1-0 on the opening day of the 2011/12 season.

• Coventry have won just two of their past eight Championship matches (D3 L3) and since the start of December they've won the joint 15th most points (9) and only four teams have scored fewer goals than the Sky Blues (7).

• Leicester haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their past 20 Championship matches, the longest ongoing run of any side. It's their worst run outside of the top-flight since going 27 without a shutout between September 1948 and April 1949.

• Coventry's Matt Grimes has created the most chances in the Championship this season (57), with 36 of those from set plays – 14 more than any other player. He also ranks second, behind Sorba Thomas, for passes played into the opposition penalty area (228).