Can Youri Tielemans help Leicester secure their place in the next round of the Europa League?

Leicester City travel to Braga in the Europa League on Thursday night with hope of grabbing a fourth European win in a row for the first time in their history.

However, on the other hand, the Portuguese side will be looking to join the Foxes at the top of Group G with a victory. 

Brendan Rodgers’ men cruised to a 4-0 victory in the reverse fixture at the beginning of November which was their biggest win in a European competition. Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice that evening and has six goal contributions in the competition with three goals and three assists. The Nigerian will be hoping to start with the Northern Irishman likely to give Jamie Vardy a rest.  

They’ll be hoping for a repeat of that this time round. However, their away record in Portugal isn’t one to shout about with their only game over there ending in a 5-0 defeat to Porto in December 2016. 

One Leicester player who really does go under the radar from fans outside of the club is Youri Tielemans. The Belgian has been a fan favourite at the club ever since he joined on loan in January 2019, later making the move permanent in the East Midlands amid interest from giants such as Manchester United.  

The Belgian international plays with such maturity and is a maestro in the Foxes midfield. After making his debut at Anderlecht over in Belgium at just 16 years old, seven years later he has already racked up 306 professional games for club and country scoring 60 goals at just 23. 

Already playing 18 times this season in only 78 days, that being six international games over three international breaks, nine Premier League games and three Europa League matches, Tielemans has had a blistering start to the season. The Belgian has scored five goals thus far this season and is improving every game.  

Another positive for the English side, Ricardo Pereira played his first minutes of football for the Leicester U23 squad. With the Portuguese native pulling on a blue shirt for the first time in eight months he played an hour helping the young foxes to a 2-1 win against West Ham.

 This was a huge step in his return to first-team football after a serious injury to his knee following a collision with Aston Villa superstar Jack Grealish. The 27-year-old could well make the bench for the Foxes this coming Thursday night which many Leicester fans will rejoice in.  

Also, Leicester could name Timothy Castagne in the squad who is likely to make a return following a month out injured.  

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