Leicester City will be desperate to halt their alarming slide down the Premier League table when they host Sunderland at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Five losses in their last six games have seen last season's Championship winners fall into the relegation zone.

They have not scored in any of those defeats, and manager Nigel Pearson has admitted that his side need to be more ruthless in both penalty boxes in order to rediscover their promising early-season form.

Meanwhile, Sunderland are moving in the opposite direction thanks to four points from their last two matches.

The Black Cats are 14th in the table and only two points away from the top half following a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace and a 1-1 draw at home to Everton before the international break.

The goalscoring exploits of Steven Fletcher, who has scored doubles in both of Sunderland's top-flight wins this season and has four in his last five games, have been a major factor in their upturn in fortunes.

Gus Poyet has insisted that the striker will be fit for their trip to the East Midlands, despite him being substituted during Scotland's Euro 2016 triumph over the Republic of Ireland with an ankle injury.

Fletcher's availability means that Poyet may only make one change to the starting XI which held the Toffees, with Lee Cattermole returning from suspension to replace Liam Bridcutt in a holding midfield role.

Reports this week claimed that Poyet is already formulating January transfer window plans as he remains without four of his summer signings - Patrick van Aanholt, Billy Jones, Sebastian Coates and Ricky Alvarez - as well as Emmanuele Giaccherini, due to injury.

Pearson, whose only fitness concerns are back-up goalkeeper Ben Hamer and Matthew Upson, has been shuffling his pack of late and went with a diamond formation in the 2-0 reverse at Southampton.

With full-backs Jeffrey Schlupp and Richie de Laet providing pace and width, and Esteban Cambiasso being deployed in his favoured anchorman role, this tactical switch could be well suited to ending Leicester's slump.

Riyad Mahrez may be preferred to Matty James behind the strikers and will be tasked with providing chances to Jamie Vardy and Leonardo Ulloa as the Foxes go in search of a first win over Sunderland since 2001.

Leicester:

Recent form: LDLLLL

Possible starting lineup: Schmeichel; De Laet, Wasilewski, Morgan, Schlupp; Cambiasso, King, Drinkwater, Mahrez; Vardy, Ulloa

Sunderland:

Recent form: DWLLWD

Possible starting lineup: Pantilimon; Vergini, O'Shea, Brown, Reveillere; Cattermole, Larsson, Gomez; Wickham, Fletcher, Johnson

Sports Mole says: 1-2