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?
The Foxes have picked up just two league wins so far in 2026 and that, combined with a six-point penalty relating to their financial management, has left them in danger of dropping into League One.
However, those two league wins this calendar year were both on home turf.
Who’s the gaffer?
Ex-Birmingham City, Derby County and Everton defender Gary Rowett was handed the task of preserving Leicester's Championship status when he succeeded Marti Cifuentes on a deal through to the end of the season in February.
As a player Rowett was a reliable performer in all the teams he played for, amassing 381 league appearances and scoring 21 goals over a 16-year career.
Rowett moved into management with his final club Burton Albion in 2012. After initially assisting Paul Peschisolido in 2009, he took over the reins and led the club to fourth place in League Two and a place in the play-offs, backing it up the following season with another top six-finish.
Moves to the Championship to manage former clubs Birmingham and Derby County followed, with his fine work at St Andrew’s going unrewarded by the club hierarchy.
He endured a difficult spell at Stoke City, before taking up the reins at Millwall and doing a fine job at The Den, having them in play-off contention over successive seasons.
He left the Lions in October 2023, and spent the final months of the 2023-24 campaign unsuccessfully trying to keep Birmingham City in the second tier following Wayne Rooney’s departure and Tony Mowbray’s need to step down due to ill health.
Rowett had a strong start to his time at Oxford United winning his first three games in charge, resulting in the 51-year-old winning EFL Championship Manager of the Month for January 2025, and he went on to lead them to second-tier safety at the end of last season.
But he left the club in December as they faced another battle for survival, and he subsequently made the switch to the King Power Stadium.
Who’s the captain?
Experienced defender Ricardo Pereira was named Foxes captain last 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 has made more than 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 22, 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 his nine goals and seven assists have been a beacon of light in a gloomy 2025-26 campaign.
The Danish defender Jannik Vestergaard has been with Leicester since the summer of 2021, having joined from Southampton, and his recent return from hernia surgery is a timely boost for the Foxes.
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 he has remained an integral figure since.
Wales midfielder Jordan James is on loan with the Foxes from French club Rennes, and he was touch and go to be fit to face the Swans after a recent heel injury.
The 21-year-old has shown a maturity beyond his years in a struggling side, and already has 26 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 linked up with Leicester in a deal that includes an option to buy.