Why Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes knows more than most why Portsmouth are such 'dangerous' opponents

Martí Cifuentes believes his Leicester side will need to produce a ‘top-level’ performance if they are to overcome Pompey at the King Power Stadium tonight.

The Foxes boss believes the Blues are ‘dangerous’ opponents as both clubs return to Championship action following the latest international break.

And he’s got good reason for thinking that, with John Mousinho getting the better of the Spanaird twice last season during his time in charge at QPR.

Martí Cifuentes’ record v Pompey

Pompey picked up 14 wins on their return to the Championship last season - but Cifuentes’ R’s were the only side they recorded a league double against.

The first of those came on the Blues and QPR’s return to action after the 2024 October international break at Loftus Road.

Winless Pompey went into the game bottom of the table with just five points from their opening nine matches. Yet they returned from the capital in triumphant mood, with goals from Freddie Potts and Callum Lang helping secure a 2-1 victory that also moved them off the foot of the table at the R’s’ expense.

Mousinho’s troops then followed up that milestone win with another crucial three points against Cifuentes & Co when they travelled to Fratton Park last February.

After securing just their second away win of the season the week before against Oxford United, Pompey got the better of the visitors by another 2-1 scoreline - with Josh Murphy and Matt Ritchie on the scoresheet on this occasion.

The victory was the Blues’ third in a row, moved them nine points clear of the relegation and helped them add even more momentum to their successful battle against relegation.

For Cifuentes and his then QPR side, though, it instigated a run of four successive defeats and seven games without a win - a sequence of events that saw the Hoops finish just one place and two points better off than Pompey at the end of the season.

Cifuentes on what he expects from Pompey tonight

Now, in the build-up to his latest meeting with Pompey - only this time as Leicester boss - the Spanaird is taking today’s game very serious.

The third-placed Foxes sit four points better off than the Blues (14th) with nine games of the current season completed. But Cifuentes knows all too well the dangers they pose.

He said: ‘It’s a team that I know well.

‘Last season, I think they did really well after promotion and it’s always difficult to play against them because they are a physical side who are good on set-plays.

‘The way they defend is a big part of why they are so competitive. They are good on high pressing and very aggressive. They’ve got quick transitions because they invest a lot of players in the high press and charge the box well.

‘They have got good players in one-v-one as well. It’s a dangerous team and we need to be at our top (level), especially because the way we play is a good chance for them to try to use the high press to disrupt and break our build-up.

‘I think, in the game, it will be very important for us the way that we manage this situation. The approach is always the same: to be loyal to our identity while understanding that each game demands different things.

‘It’s about huge respect to the opposition because they definitely have their strengths and then trying to focus on our strengths and how we can really punish them more than just being worried about what they are good at, but especially how we can exploit the weaknesses.’

For your next Pompey read: Leicester City v Portsmouth: Early team and injury news as 7 out and 2 doubts for Saturday evening contest