Following Wednesday nights 1-0 victory against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, Leicester City will continue preparations for the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Wolves on Saturday.
With less than two weeks until the Foxes travel to Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium, it is vital that Craig Shakespeare's side improve their fitness levels and a trip to a Wanderers side tipped by many to push for promotion to the Premier League will certainly move the Foxes in the right direction ahead of the new campaign.
Signs of progression from the Foxes
After losing to Liverpool in the Asia Trophy final 2-1 in Hong Kong, Leicester returned to England ahead of a hectic pre-season schedule.
On Wednesday night, the Foxes edged past League Two side Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, with Riyad Mahrez continuing his impressive start to pre-season. The Foxes controlled the game throughout, but lacked the cutting edge in the final third, with the Hatters defence standing firm.
In the first half, the Foxes looked comfortable in possession but were frustrated by a well organised Luton back line. In the process, opportunities on goal weren't as frequent as the Foxes expected, with Shinji Okazaki coming closest with an attempted overhead kick following a good ball from Danny Simpson.
In the second half, the introduction of Algerian pair Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani improved the football on show, with the Foxes looking sharper in attack in the second 45 minutes. Despite a number of opportunities in the second half, including a tame effort from Tom Lawrence, it took until the 83rd minute for Riyad Mahrez to put the Foxes ahead after Ahmed Musa had initially rounded the Hatters keeper.
With the Foxes securing an expected victory, the performances of many of the players including new additions Harry Maguire and Vicente Iborra can be deemed as positive ahead of the new campaign. In midfield, Nigerian international Wilfred Ndidi also had an impressive display on the pitch, whilst Mahrez looked sharp and continued his good start to pre-season in terms of goalscoring.
Busy summer for Wolves
Saturday's trip across the midlands will certainly be a tough test for the Foxes, with their opponents just a week away from the new Sky Bet Championship season, as Middlesbrough travel to Molineux next Saturday.
Following the departure of manager Paul Lambert, the Wanderers were quick to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo as their manager, with owner Jorge Mendes targeting promotion to the Premier League. The club have shown a huge level of intent during the summer and have completed the signatures of some well known stars.
Most noticeably, the club completed the signing of Portuguese international Rubén Neves from Porto for a club-record fee of £15.8 million. Having joined the club on a five-year deal, the 20-year old midfielder become the youngest captain in Champions League history, leading out the Portuguese club against Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015.
The club have also bolstered their side with the signings of goalkeeper John Ruddy, full-back Barry Douglas, centre-back Ryan Bennett, before showing further intent with the signings of Porto defender Willy Boly and Atletico Madrid midfielder Diogo Jota on season-long loan deals.
In pre-season, Wolves have had a mixed bag of results ahead of their home game with Middlesbrough next Saturday. With the game with the Foxes being the Wanderes final pre-season game, they have already defeated Werder Bremen, Viktoria Plzen and Peterbourgh United. However, a disappointing 2-0 defeat to League One side Shrewsbury Town is is enough evidence to suggest that their is room for improvement for the midlanders.
First meeting in four years
Saturday's game at Molineux will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2012/13 championship campaign. In September 2012, the sides met at Molineux, with Wolves winning the game 2-1 following goals from Sylvain Ebanks-Blake and Richard Stearman. In January 2013 at the King Power Stadium, Leicester City continued their push towards the automatic promotion places, with a 2-1 victory. A 73rd minute winner from David Nugent proved enough for the three points after Wolves danger man Bakary Sako had cancelled it a 24th minute strike from Anthony Knockaert.