Leicester City will continue life under new manager Enzo Maresca when they face Northampton Town in a pre-season friendly at Sixfields on Saturday.

While the Foxes suffered relegation from the Premier League last term, the Cobblers gained automatic promotion to League One.

Match preview

Northampton Town are back in the third tier of English football after snatching the third and final automatic promotion spot in League Two last season, finishing four points clear of fourth-placed Stockport County.

The Cobblers won 23 of their 46 league matches in 2022-23, recording 14 draws and nine losses in the process, and they also outscored the other two automatically-promoted sides – Leyton Orient and Stevenage.

Interestingly, Jon Brady's side lost more home games than away games last season, suffering five league defeats at Sixfields while recording four losses on the road, with 12 wins coming on home soil and 11 victories coming on their travels.

It goes without saying that League One will be a completely different challenge for Northampton, but the Cobblers have spent three of the past seven seasons in the third tier, gaining vital experience along the way.

Seven years on from their historic Premier League title triumph, Leicester City are preparing for life in the Championship after a hugely disappointing 2022-23 ended in relegation for the former top-flight champions.

However, the Foxes can have very few complaints about their current situation, as they lost 22 of their 38 league outings last term, conceding an inexcusable 68 goals in the process.

With the club involved in a relegation battle, Brendan Rodgers was sacked in April following a run of five defeats in six matches, but his successor – Dean Smith – failed to turn things around, winning only two of his eight games in charge.

As a result, Leicester finished third from bottom and two points from safety in the final Premier League standings, meaning that the East Midlands outfit will be playing second-tier football for the first time since 2013-14.

Enzo Maresca has been appointed as the new Foxes manager, having spent time as Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City, and the 43-year-old Italian will be expected to take the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Team News

Northampton Town have made a couple of free transfers this summer, signing 20-year-old forward Kieron Bowie from Fulham and left-back Patrick Brough from Barrow.

Moving in the opposite direction, goalkeeper Tom King has joined Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, so Lee Burge is expected to start between the sticks on Saturday.

Sam Hoskins was the star of the show for the Cobblers last season, scoring 22 goals in 41 league appearances, while Louis Appere chipped in with eight goals and four assists.

On the flip side, Leicester City have sold James Maddison to Tottenham Hotspur, while Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu and Ayoze Perez have left on free transfers.

Daniel Amartey, Nampalys Mendy and Ryan Bertrand have also been released by the club, with Harry Winks and Conor Coady coming in to add experience to the squad.

Enzo Maresca will likely give minutes to plenty of players as he familiarises himself with his new team this weekend, with the likes of Ricardo Pereira, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho expected to start.

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; Lintott, Sherring, Dyche, Haynes; Mcwilliams, Leonard; Hoskins, Pinnock, Apprere; Bowie

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Ward; Pereira, Coady, Souttar, Thomas; Winks, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall; Albrighton, Vardy, Iheanacho

We say: Northampton Town 1-3 Leicester City

Naturally, the Leicester City players will be determined to impress their new manager, so we expect the Foxes to cruise to a comfortable victory over Northampton Town, who could struggle to deal with Leicester's quality.

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