With Leicester City travelling to South Wales to take on Swansea City this weekend, Claudio Ranieri has highlighted the extreme test facing his side at the Liberty Stadium.
In his pre-match press conference, the Italian was constantly hailing the job that Garry Monk has done at the Welsh club and is obviously aware of the quality that the Jacks possess. So, we're sure to be in for a fascinating match on Saturday afternoon.
'A very good team'
Ahead of the clash, the 64-year-old has labelled the Welsh outfit as a "good team" and believes that results for the Swans will improve "sooner or later" despite the fact that they are currently sitting in 15th in the Premier League table. Then again, the experienced manager has cheekily suggested that he hopes that the Swans' struggles continue for a few more days; cheekily wishing "it is later rather than sooner."
However, regardless of their relative plight and the Foxes' unbelievable start so far this campaign, the ex-Chelsea boss is not allowing himself to underestimate Garry Monk's men. Referencing the "good players" at the club, Ranieri has instructed his squad to "be careful" as they come up against an extremely tough test.
As a matter of fact, the Italian has gone as far as to say this match will be "very difficult", so is a good opportunity for the Foxes to "show how good" they are after drawing with Manchester United last weekend.
'There's big competiton'
On the other hand, Ranieri's team may have to compete at the Liberty Stadium with a few notable absences. Alongside Nathan Dyer being missing (due to not being allowed to play against his parent club), Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet is also out for the foreseeable future.
Talking to the gathered media, the former-Inter Milan man revealed that the ex-Manchester United full-back "will be out for a month" with an ankle injury following a rough tackle in training.
Ritchie De Laet looks set to miss up to a month of football thanks to injury (Photo: Getty)
Nevertheless, there is hope that midfielder Matty James could be back soon. Praising the English midfielder and his own medical staff as "fantastic", the Italian is evidently very optimistic that the former Preston North End youngster could return from long-term injury as soon as possible after seeing how he reacts "after the first hour" of competitive football.