Jamie Vardy is “one of the best strikers in Europe” and will require special attention if Norwich City are to have any hope of picking up points at Leicester, Canaries head coach Daniel Farke has admitted.
The 32-year-old is the Premier League's top scorer with 16 goals and is chasing his own record of scoring in 11 consecutive matches, having notched in each of the Foxes eight wins on the spin, ahead of today's meeting at the king Power Stadium (3pm).
"We spoke about his pace in our meeting," said Farke. "Quality is defined by performance over a long-term period and this is what Jamie Vardy is delivering. He is delivering over years, not just for a few good weeks or months, and for me this is the sign of a really good quality striker.
"In each and every surrounding, to be there and deliver with goals, for this he is 100 percent one of the best strikers in Europe and of course when you deliver on this level with so many goals it's outstanding.
"It will be one key task for us to control him and to control his movements, without any doubt.
"But it is also up to do this with the team and our general tactical behaviour. We know it's a huge task, especially for our last row, but it's also important to disturb the deliveries for his game and to control the areas from which he gets the key passes.
"So I think it's a fine balance between of course being aware of his quality and movement but also to control all the other topics and great players that deliver for him, James Maddison for example, because he is pretty often there with a key pass to use him.
"Also to be switched on in our possession because he is quite good in counter-attacks, he is always lurking, also to control him even in our possession. So this will also be a key topic in our game and if we are good in these topics then we have all the chances to be there with control over him."
Leicester finished ninth last season but have improved drastically since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers from Celtic in February, currently sitting second ahead of reigning champions Manchester City but still eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
"Brendan is doing a fantastic job, without any doubt, you see his handwriting on the team and to play with this consistency with so many wins in a row at this level, is outstanding," Farke continued.
"He was able to create an unbelievably good defensive behaviour, they have many clean sheets and they are pretty solid in terms of defending.
"I also feel that the mental attitude of the team is that they enjoy to work together and to be successful together, you get the feeling that they enjoy what they are doing on the pitch - they have lots of fun while playing football.
"I think that's totally up to Brendan to give this feeling to the lads. Of course the results also help with the mood and the confidence but in general he has created this atmosphere in the team."
The Foxes also have the best defensive record, with just 10 goals conceded, with Farke adding: "In this game we are not the favourite, we are the underdog, and it's quite normal if Leicester wins a home game in this situation. In football you are aiming to reach something extraordinary and we know it's also in our hands. So we know if we are good in our topics, reduce our mistakes and are good in our attacking, we have a chance wherever we travel."
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