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 just the second 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 the 2023-24 season, and last season's Premier League return proved to be for a solitary campaign.
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 have retained a number of players who featured in the Premier League last season and are fancied to be among the promotion contenders.
They have made a good start to the season and currently sit in the play-off places, two places and one point above the Swans.
The Foxes have lost just once in the league this season, but have drawn their last four.
Who’s the gaffer?
Spaniard Marti Cifuentes started his coaching career with short spells in the youth set-ups of Ajax and Millwall.
His first senior management role came back in 2014, when he took over Segunda Division B club Sant Andreu, he then moved to fellow Division B club Hospitalet ahead of the 2015-16 season.
He joined Norwegian club Sandefjord in May 2018. He was unable to prevent them being relegated despite losing just six of his 18 games in charge after taking over midway through the campaign, but guided them to promotion in his first full season in charge.
A year in Denmark with Aalborg BK followed ahead of a switch to Sweden with Hammarby IF in 2022.
He guided the latter to the final of the Swedish Cup, where they lost on penalties to Malmo that same year. They finished third in the Allsvenskan last year to qualify for the Europa Conference League before Cifuentes joined the R's in October 2023.
He went on to guide them clear of danger and secure their Championship status and had them looking like potential play-off contenders before a difficult end to last season.
Cifuentes was named as Leicester boss in the summer following Ruud van Nistelrooy's departure.
Who’s the captain?
Experienced defender Ricardo Pereira was named Foxes captain by new head coach Marti Cifuentes in the summer.
The Portugal international has been with the club since 2018 and was part of their FA Cup and Community Shield successes in 2021, and their promotion in 2024.
The full-back started his senior career in his homeland with Vitoria Guimaraes - having been among the youth ranks at Benfica and Sporting Lisbon - and his showings soon secured him a move to Porto.
Pereira had two loan spells in France with Nice before firmly establishing himself with Porto and helping them to the 2017-18 Primeira Liga title before departing for the East Midlands.
He is rapidly closing in on 200 appearances for Leicester and was named the club's player of the season for the 2018-19 campaign.
Who are the key men?
Abdul Fatawu is an exciting and lively presence for Leicester in the final third and, still aged just 21, looks to have a very bright future ahead of him.
The Ghana international was first spotted playing in the second tier in his homeland, where his performances had a number of Europe's elite clubs plotting his progress and interested in securing his services.
He initially joined Sporting Lisbon but, after a season in Portugal, he was loaned out to Leicester where he turned in a number of eye-catching displays as they were promoted to the Premier League.
His move was made permanent in the summer of 2024. Like many of his teammates he endured a challenging 2024-25, but has made a bright start to the new season, scoring a stunning goal against Charlton Athletic.
The 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 the 2023-23 season, but returned to be a key figure in their promotion campaign of two campaigns ago, and they will again be looking to his experience as they once again seek to bounce back to the top-flight at the first attempt.
Wales midfielder Jordan James is on loan with the Foxes from French club Rennes, and scored his first goal for them in midweek against Wrexham.
The 21-year-old has shown a maturity beyond his years and already has 22 international caps to his name.
Born in Hereford, James joined Birmingham City at pre-academy level and progressed all the way through the ranks to become a first-team regular while still a teenager.
He made nearly 100 league appearances for the Blues before joining Rennes in 2024. Having not established himself as a regular with the Ligue 1 side he has linked up with Leicester in a deal that includes an option to buy.