Leicester City have struggled to deal with wingplay all season and will be therefore very concerned as Porto welcome back Maxi Pereira.
Leicester City have been dealt a blow ahead of their crucial Champions League group stage clash with FC Porto after experienced full-back Maxi Pereira returned to full training on the eve of the game.
The wily 32-year-old underwent surgery following a horror tackle from Daniele De Rossi in Porto’s 3-0 second-leg play-off win against Roma, and has not featured since for the Portuguese giants.
However, according to Sapo Desporto, Pereira returned to full training on Sunday afternoon and has been passed fit to feature at the King Power Stadium as Claudio Ranieri’s side aim to take a huge step towards the knockout stages with a win against their strongest group rivals.
While the Foxes are distinctly lacking in top level European experience, Pereira has been a fixture of the Champions League in recent few seasons as a regular starter for Benfica before swapping the Lisbon giants for their title-chasing rivals last summer.
An experienced, often cynical defender, the 114-time capped Uruguayan international possesses the traditional garra mind-set of his homeland; essentially an unwavering desire to win at all costs.
Pereira has also shone in European encounters with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, so has an intricate understanding of English opponents and will be expected to provide much of Porto’s attacking force along with left-back Miguel Layun (below) as former Valencia boss Nuno Espirito Santo favours a direct, wing-centric gameplan.
Leicester, then, will have to be on their guard on Tuesday evening.
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