Unsurprisingly, Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin feels that the festive fixture period will prove pivotal in the title race. Before United's huge match against Leicester City on Saturday, Schneiderlin spoke to the media and stated the obvious: that time when the games come hot and heavy will prove hugely important.

Important to get off on the right foot

Schneiderlin began by focusing on what is to come around Christmas time, saying to MUTV: "It’s very important to start this period on top of the table and carry on building confidence before games on Boxing Day and over Christmas. We know we can build on the strong back four, we aren’t going to concede many goals and it’s very good to be sure about a strength like this."

Following that, he spoke about the foundation which the Reds must set on Saturday. "If you want to win the league, you need strong foundations and a strong defence and that’s what we have. We want to take this game and win; we’ll make sure that Leicester find it difficult," said Schneiderlin.

Jamie Vardy will prove difficult

After speaking about the precedent United must establish, Schneiderlin's comments strayed to the man of the hour: Jamie Vardy. If he scores during Saturday's match, he will score in his 11th straight English Premier League match, breaking the consecutive scoring record he currently holds jointly with former-United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The midfielder does not expect that it will be easy to stop Vardy, but he knows it's possible, and that a team is more than one player. 

“He’s been brilliant, it’s amazing to score that many goals for a team but especially a team like Leicester, who last year secured their safety in the last few games," he added. "What they’re doing is very good; to be top at the end of November and start of December, it’s very good for their club but now they have a difficult period. We’ll do our best to expose them and make sure Vardy doesn’t get the record."

Schneiderlin continued: "It’s not only one player in a team. He gets all the rewards by scoring goals, but I’m sure his team-mates are doing a great job. I know they have good, strong players and their manager is a good organiser. He’s an Italian coach who organises teams very well, so it will be a hard game but we know that if we play at full strength, with our quality, we can be first."

Manchester United take on Leicester City at 5:30 PM BST on Saturday. Stay tuned to VAVEL UK for the latest United news.