How the Leicester City squad is shaping up for the trip to the CBS Arena this Saturday afternoon, when they take on the Championship table-toppers in the M69 Derby
Jordan Blackwell
12:24, 12 Jan 2026
Marti Cifuentes will have to decide if he reinstates Wout Faes to the Leicester City squad at Coventry if Jannik Vestergaard is injured.
City’s medical team will be assessing Vestergaard this week after he twisted his ankle at Cheltenham, leading to immediate swelling.
If the Dane is not fit to travel to Coventry, then there’s a call for the manager to make.
Faes has not been included in any matchday squads since the transfer window opened with the Belgian seeking a move this month in order to revitalise his World Cup hopes.
But if Vestergaard is injured, Cifuentes will have to decide if he recalls Faes or if he’s happy to go without a centre-back back-up on the bench.
At home to Sheffield United and away at QPR, Cifuentes used Oliver Skipp at centre-back in the second half, and so the manager may be satisfied with dropping the midfielder back in the event either Caleb Okoli or Ben Nelson have to be withdrawn.
However, City were trailing in both of those matches, with the opposition sitting back on a handsome lead, and so there was little defending for Skipp to do.
If City are ahead against Coventry, turning to Skipp to help defend the box amid a Sky Blues bombardment may not be the best tactic.
So Cifuentes may feel he needs Faes in the squad. Although he’s been left out of late, he has continued to train with the first team at Seagrave.
If Vestergaard is out, he will be one of five players missing for City. Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), Harry Souttar (Achilles) and Victor Kristiansen (knee) are all sidelined through injury, while Harry Winks is very unlikely to be considered for selection.
City are set to have one player return though with Boubakary Soumare due back from a knee injury. He returned to training last week, with the cup win at Cheltenham his ninth game out.
Like with Faes, there are doubts around Soumare’s future, with Monaco keen and just six months remaining on the French midfielder’s contract. But it seems likely Soumare will at least make the bench if he’s fit to do so.
Many of the eight changes Cifuentes made for the FA Cup victory will be reversed at the CBS Arena. Abdul Fatawu was left out of the squad at Cheltenham in order to rest, not because of injury. The Ghanaian is fit for this weekend.
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