Ricoh Arena Saturday February 23 3pm 

THERE never seems to be a dull moment which ever side of the M69 you lie these days.

While the Sky Blues kick-off life under new manager Chris Coleman, Leicester Chairman Milan Mandaric celebrated his first anniversary as the Foxes supremo recently.

And it's fair to say it has been quite some year at the Walkers Stadium.

The East Midlanders have been through no less than five managers during that period and Mandaric has recently been quite outspoken of the fact that Leicester are not in the position he would have hoped for a year on from when he took over.

Not that it would take a genius to work that out as nobody invests £11m of the hard earned to find their club embroiled in a fierce relegation battle, which Leicester, much like the Sky Blues, are finding it hard to pull away from.

"So far I have invested over £11million in this club to get going" said Mandaric last week. "It has not been easy.

"I am not crying about it, but I tell you there were a few times when I thought 'what am I doing here', when I wondered if I would throw in the towel.

"This is not where I expected to be. There is a lot of work to be done but I know I will do it.

"I am still excited by it. We have a huge number of great supporters who are as desperate as I am to get this club up and running."

Mandaric celebrated his first game when the Sky Blues visited the Walkers Stadium last season and there was much to be happy about as the Foxes - back then managed by Rob Kelly - won 3-0.

But results nosedived at the tailend of 2006/07 and the Foxes finished in 19th place in the Championship, with Nigel Worthington overseeing the final five games of the campaign before he was dismissed, paving the way for Martin Allen to take over in May and go about spending Mandaric's millions.

Allen arrived with a reputation as something of an eccentric manager, earning him the nickname "Mad Dog", albeit with a good record of success from his spells in charge of MK Dons and Brentford.

He made a raft of signings, including Birmingham duo Stephen Clemence (pictured right) and DJ Campbell for in excess of £1m apiece, but left the Club by mutual consent at the end of last August after overseeing just three league games, winning, drawing and losing one.

Gary Megson was then handed the chance to revive his managerial career after 18 months out of the game but he lasted only nine games until the call of Premiership Bolton was too strong to ignore and he departed.

The former West Brom boss only oversaw one league win out of seven attempts but did see Leicester through to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup with wins over Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

So October ended with two managers already come and gone and Ian Holloway was named the Foxes third boss of 2007/08 on November 22, overseeing an impressive 2-0 victory over Bristol City.

Apart from a run of seven games with just one defeat over Christmas and the New Year, wins have been few and far between since then.

Holloway left his position at Plymouth to take up his new post at the Walkers Stadium. He managed the Pilgrims for just one full season, leading them to an eleventh place finish in the Championship in 2006/07.

The former Bristol Rovers and QPR boss has brought in players he knew well or who had proven they had what it takes to get teams out of this division in January, such as former Plymouth striker Barry Hayles and Derby duo Steve Howard and Matt Oakley.

But a record of just four victories from 18 league encounters lead to rumours in the press that he too could be on his way out, speculation that Holloway was quick to dismiss and you can guarantee he will rally his troops to show how wrong the doubters are.

Team News

Recent signings from Walsall, defenders Danny Fox and Scott Dann are available again for City after being cup-tied for last weekend's FA Cup defeat at the hands of West Brom.

Midfielder Stephen Hughes is also back in contention after recovering from an ankle injury which forced him to miss the Sky Blues' last two games.

Leicester boss Ian Holloway is sweating on the fitness of youngsters Joe Mattock and Richard Stearman after both limped off with injuries during the Foxes' 4-0 win over Norwich last weekend.

Star Man

An undoubted star of Derby County's promotion-winning 2006/07 season, Leicester beat off competition from a number of Championship clubs to complete the signing of Steve Howard for an undisclosed fee on December 31, 2007.

The 31-year-old striker followed fellow hitman Barry Hayles, who signed earlier on the same day, through the doors at the Walkers Stadium.

The marksman made his Foxes' debut against QPR on New Year's Day after it was revealed that he had initially joined on an emergency loan deal and after penning a three-and-a-half year deal at the walkers Stadium, he scored his first goal for his new employers against the Sky Blues on January 12.

Howard signed for the Rams in July 2006 after five years with Luton Town, during which time he netted over 100 goals and finished 2006/07 as Derby's leading scorer with 19 goals, 18 of which came in the Championship.

He realised a lifelong ambition by playing at Wembley for the first time in last season's Championship Play-Off Final victory over West Brom after scoring twice in the semi-final first leg against Southampton at St Mary's.

The 31-year-old accumulated 21 appearances for the Rams in the Premier League and scored his only goal of the campaign in the 4-1 defeat at champions Manchester United on December 8.

A tall, powerful striker, Howard began his career at Northern League Division One outfit Tow Law Town in 1994 before moving to Hartlepool United a year later.

Whilst at Victoria Park, he scored 32 goals and was snapped up by Northampton Town for a club record £120,000 in February 1999.

After two years with the Cobblers, the Hatters made their move for the talented striker in March, 2001 and he went on to average almost a goal every two games whilst plying his trade at Kenilworth Road.

Last Time We Met

A scrappy local derby between the Sky Blues and Leicester ended goalless when the two teams last locked horns at the Ricoh Arena in August 2006.

City began life without Gary McSheffrey following his £4m move to Birmingham and struggled to create chances, though Don Hutchison's first-half free-kick did hit the post.

The Foxes also lacked a cutting edge in front of goal, with Josh Low showing a lack of composure on 15 minutes.

Late on Andy Marshall beat away Iain Hume's powerful shot, while Leicester were troubled by a Colin Cameron cross.