Brendan Rodgers makes Leicester City Champions League prediction as he looks to Roma

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers is “really happy” with the health and form of his squad ahead of Thursday’s huge clash with Roma.

City lost 3-1 to Tottenham on Sunday in a match that felt secondary to the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg in the Italian capital this Thursday (8pm kick-off). That was reflected in part by Rodgers’ team selection, with eight changes made.

It allowed City’s top stars to get a rest before the meeting with Roma, with Rodgers declaring that he could not risk playing them three times in a week given many of the players’ recent injury issues.

Meanwhile, he felt the competitive nature of the performance, with City running Spurs close in the first half in particular in North London, showed that with a fully-fit squad and one or two additions, they could be challenging for the top four next season like Antonio Conte’s side are doing at the moment.

Asked if he felt City were in a good place ahead of Thursday, with the tie finely balanced at 1-1 after the first leg at the King Power Stadium, Rodgers said: “Very much so. I was really happy I could get the squad back.

“In different circumstances, we could have been really strong today and strong on Thursday, but the nature of our season, it’s been riddled with injuries, and the players coming back I just cannot afford to risk playing them three times in a week.

“Our schedule has been so heavy. We’ve got a game Thursday that could go to extra-time as well, so I’ve been aware of that.

“It’s nice to be able to do that and still be competitive. That will be, I suspect, Tottenham’s strongest team, and I think going forward, if we can add one or two and keep the squad fit, we might be able to be up there challenging again next season.”

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