Championship strugglers Queens Park Rangers have been handed a boost ahead of this weekend’s clash at home to Leicester City as the visitors will be without one of their key stars.
Tuesday’s win over Sunderland was the Foxes’ 12th from 13 games in England’s second tier as Enzo Maresca’s side look primed for a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The Black Cats’ boss Tony Mowbray even predicted that nobody can catch Leicester City despite there being seven months remaining in the 2023/24 campaign.
“How good are they? They are Premier League. I don’t think anyone will catch them. I think Leicester will win the title,” Mowbray said.
The victory in midweek against Sunderland at the King Power Stadium was the Foxes’ eighth-straight win in the league. Maresca will be hoping his men can extend this run to nine games on Saturday at Loftus Road against QPR who haven’t won a game since the beginning of September.
However, Leicester City will have to do so without their star midfielder Wilfred Ndidi. The Italian coach revealed in his pre-match press conference that the Nigeria international will not travel with the rest of the squad.
When asked about any absentees or injury concerns, Maresca replied [quotes via club media]:
“The only one is Wilf. That looks a bit more than tiredness as we thought at the beginning, so he probably has to stay out some days or weeks.
“It’s not an important problem, just a muscular problem that we thought was not important. It’s not big, but I think at least for some days or weeks he going to be out.”
Ndidi did not feature on Tuesday either, with Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei taking his place in the starting lineup. It is unclear when exactly the 26-year-old will return to the team.
Writer’s View
QPR are heavy underdogs ahead of tomorrow’s vital clash with Leicester City for Gareth Ainsworth’s future in the dugout. While Ndidi’s absence won’t make QPR favourites, it still gives them a better chance than if Maresca had his best midfield playing.
A win for the London outfit would be huge for Ainsworth and buy him more time as QPR boss while another defeat could be one of the final nails in his coffin.
