Leicester City mark their return to the Championship with an opening-weekend fixture against Coventry City on Sunday afternoon.

While the Foxes are back at this level of football after relegation from the Premier League, their opponents only missed out on a place in the top flight courtesy of a playoff-final defeat in May.

Match preview

After nine years in the Premier League, a period where they famously won the title and reached the Champions League quarter-finals, Leicester are back competing in the second tier of English football.

A wide array of players have departed the King Power Stadium, most notably James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, but relegation may eventually prove to be a blessing in disguise, with the Foxes requiring a refresh in both players and in the dugout.

Enzo Maresca, formerly a coach at Manchester City, has been tasked with leading the new era, and Leicester fans have reason for optimism given the players that have arrived through the door.

Securing the services of Conor Coady, Callum Doyle and Harry Winks are all major deals for the East Midlands giants, as is Stephy Mavididi leaving Ligue 1 to return to England where he was formerly on the books of Arsenal.

Pre-season proved to be indifferent - Leicester were blown away by Liverpool last weekend - but that will soon be forgotten if they get their campaign up and running with maximum points.

Achieving that will be easier said than done as they face opponents who are motivated to prove that last season's journey to the playoff final was not a one-off.

The sale, albeit for big money, of top goalscorer Viktor Gyokeres naturally came as a blow, yet it has provided Mark Robins with the financial firepower to significantly strengthen his squad in numerous areas.

Naturally, the focus will be on Ellis Simms and, allegedly, Haji Wright with the pair having been chosen as the fresh faces to lead the line, but Robins has acquired talent from far and wide to put together a group of players that look stronger than in 2022-23.

While Coventry took a low-key approach to pre-season, only playing lower-end EFL sides, they recorded three wins and one draw from that quartet of fixtures.