Leicestershire

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Alan Sheehan reckons Swansea City will face perhaps the best side in the Championship this season when they host Leicester City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Leicester have made a solid start to the season following their relegation from the Premier League in 2024-25, losing only one of their first eight league games.

But having beaten Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Birmingham – and losing at Preston – in their first four second-tier fixtures, Marti Cifuentes' team have played out four successive league draws.

Leicester are sixth in the early-season table, but former Foxes player Sheehan reckons his old club will be in the mix for automatic promotion come next spring.

"I'd be surprised if they're not up there," he said.

"They're a team that were in the Premier League last year and have players that have got a lot of Premier League experience.

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"I've watched a bit of them. They're another team that could probably have more points – they are slightly simmering in areas - but a team that you have to be very organised against because they've got a lot of quality all over pitch."

Having ended a three-game Championship winless streak by beating Blackburn in midweek, Swansea are now chasing a first home victory in four attempts.

Since beating Sheffield United in their first home league game of the season, Swansea have drawn with Watford, Hull City and Millwall on their own patch.

"Hull was obviously incredibly disappointing, you're [winning after] 97 minutes in the first game back after the break and concede from a set-piece," Sheehan said.

"Millwall was disappointing to concede on the stroke of half-time and then a set-piece worldie against Watford.

"The draws can feel like losses, but also respecting who we're playing against. It's an incredibly difficult game against Leicester. We have to respect them and we'll need our fans right behind us again to give us that extra bit."

Four successive draws have seen Leicester fall five points behind Championship leaders Middlesbrough as they prepare to face Swansea City in South Wales.

The Swans are also proving to be draw specialists themselves with each of their past three home games in the league ending in stalemates.

• Swansea City have won just one of their past nine league meetings against Leicester City (D1 L7).

• The Foxes have won three of their four away league meetings at Swansea (L1), their last loss coming in the top flight in February 2017 (0-2) when they were reigning champions.

• Swansea City are unbeaten in their past eight home matches in the Championship (W4 D4), keeping four clean sheets in the process. This is the Swans' longest unbeaten home run since a run of 13 between October 2020 and February 2021.

• Leicester City have drawn each of their past four league matches, their longest run of consecutive draws since a run of six between October and November 2004.

• Ricardo Pereira's tally of two goals in five Championship matches this season is just one shy of the three goals he managed in 39 matches in his last campaign in the competition (2023-24).

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Susan Whelan has left her role as Leicester City chief executive after 15 years with the club.

In her time in the job, Leicester rose from England's second tier to win a previously unfathomable Premier League title in 2015-16 before going on to also claim the FA Cup for the first time in 2021.

While she was involved in a decade of unprecedented success at the Foxes, which included bringing Champions League football to the King Power Stadium, the club has most recently suffered two relegations in three years.

The threat of points deductions for alleged breaches of spending rules have also hung over the club in recent years.

While Leicester successfully argued against being punished on their return to the Premier League last season, the most recent case brought against them by the English Football League remains unresolved.

Those relegations, the tightening of budgets and on-field struggles have seen sections of Leicester's support turn against both Whelan and director of football Jon Rudkin.

Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has taken over from Whelan on an interim basis.