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Winks was brilliant when he came on at half-time. Faes also played well and scored the winner. Given the way that Bilal’s attitude was subsequently so toxic that he was dropped from the squad while Winks and Faes continued to play, I’d day he is by far the most likely candidate.

Whelan’s departure suggests Top regards Rudkin as higher up the food chain than the CEO

El Khannouss, without a doubt.

Leicester City’s latest legal battle with the Premier League is on course to start before the end of the year but the outcome is unlikely to be revealed until deep into the season. Relegated to the Championship in May, Leicester were hit with three charges by the Premier League the same month and are facing the renewed threat of a points deduction. Telegraph Sport can reveal that a date for the hearing has now been scheduled and will begin in the next few weeks, barring any further delays. With the prospect of appeals, it is thought that a conclusion may not be reached until next year. The saga places a dark cloud over Leicester’s promotion attempt and has also angered other Championship clubs. After rules were amended earlier this year, any sanction – including a points deduction – could be imposed this season, threatening to disrupt their hopes for promotion. Leicester are alleged to have breached profitability and sustainability rules for the 2023-24 season, when the club were in the Championship. They were also charged with failing to provide their annual accounts to the Premier League before the December 31 deadline. There was an additional charge after failing an “obligation to provide full, complete and prompt assistance to the Premier League”. Leicester have made combined losses of more than £200m across the rolling three-year period ending June 30, 2024. PSR regulations permit a maximum loss of £81m over that period, with adjustments for deductions. Their hearing will go before an independent commission and, if the club is found guilty, they could face a variety of other sanctions including a transfer ban or a fine. Though the date of the hearing is confidential, it is understood that the intention was always for a time before Christmas. The English Football League is also considering its position and will await the verdict from the commission. Another charge cannot be ruled out. In previous legal cases, Leicester have enlisted renowned sports lawyer Nick De Marco KC and his team at Blackstone Chambers. It is unclear whether De Marco will represent the club again. Leicester have said they intend to “engage co-operatively”. Leicester’s battle for compliance has been ongoing for years, and the problems can arguably be traced back to the 2021-22 season. That summer they spent around £50m on Patson Daka, Jannik Vestergaard and Boubakary Soumaré and, crucially, made the decision not to sell any first-team players. Leicester had previously sold the likes of N’Golo Kanté, Harry Maguire, Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater and Ben Chilwell but that year opted to back Brendan Rodgers by refusing to accept offers for coveted stars. Though they have since returned to that model, the absence of a big sale that year proved a mistake. Relegation the following season was a significant financial blow, coming shortly after record losses of £92.5m were announced. Susan Whelan, the club’s chief executive, had warned that the consequences “will be felt for some time”. Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was sold to West Ham for £15m over the summer Credit: Getty Images/Richard Pelham It is a complex story but ultimately one of a club daring to dream and overspending. Poor decisions have caught up with them and the temptation to pay big wages – plus a failure to offload players when their value is high – has been costly. As a result, Leicester have only spent around £2m on transfers this year – on defender Woyo Coulibaly, who joined in January but has not appeared for the club since a 4-0 defeat at Brentford on February 21. Leicester did raise more than £40m over the summer, with no money spent on incoming transfers. Their highest earner, Wilfred Ndidi, moved to Besiktas for £8m while they moved Conor Coady’s £70,000-a-week wages off the books with the former England international joining Wrexham. Mads Hermansen (£15m to West Ham), Kasey McAteer (£12m to Ipswich) and James Justin (£8m to Leeds) completed the major sales. The Cifuentes rebuild in the Championship Away from their ongoing legal battle, Leicester are targeting an instant return to the Premier League. Last season was an excruciating experience, with Steve Cooper sacked after 12 league matches and his replacement, Ruud van Nistelrooy, unable to prevent the club hurtling to relegation. Leicester are now rebuilding in the Championship under Martí Cifuentes, the former QPR manager, who was appointed in July. Cifuentes emerged as their No 1 target ahead of other candidates interviewed including Chris Wilder and Gary O’Neil. Leicester were seeking a head coach in the mould of former manager Enzo Maresca, with a possession-based, positional style of play. Though Maresca guided Leicester to promotion in 2024, he was wedded to his philosophy and there were some concerns over his ability to adapt. Cifuentes, however, is regarded as a coach who can tweak styles to combat different opponents. During his presentation in Holyport with chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and Jon Rudkin, the club’s director of football, he also impressed by outlining how he would unify the club following their nightmare Premier League season. Leicester manager Martí Cifuentes, who was appointed in July, is tasked with guiding the club back to the Premier League Credit: Getty Images/Eddie Keogh Another attraction for Leicester was Cifuentes’s strong belief in youth development. Leicester’s academy has produced a number of gems in recent years, including the outstanding talent Jeremy Monga, Louis Page and Jake Evans. Ben Nelson, the England Under-20 centre-back, is also highly regarded and attracted interest from Premier League clubs over the summer. Leicester turned down bids and maintained a high valuation that ultimately scared clubs off. Despite that strong interest, Nelson has yet to appear in the league since Cifuentes’s arrival. Recent spending issues have heightened the need to promote youngsters to the first team. Cifuentes is described as an “on the grass” coach who is hands-on with training sessions and has displayed a no-nonsense approach. During a difficult transfer window, with many players keen to leave, he made it immediately clear who was boss. Before Leicester’s opening match of the season at home to Sheffield Wednesday, one wantaway player told him he did not want to be considered for selection. Yet Cifuentes informed him flatly that he would be in the squad and considered the matter over. The player did appear that weekend. The closure of the transfer window was a relief and has led to a shift in attitude within the dressing room. Training sessions have been sharp and enjoyable for most of the players. Leicester are in the Championship play-off places despite a draw to Wrexham recently Credit: PA/Joe Giddens Cifuentes has gone six games unbeaten in the league, but the Spaniard is still waiting for lift-off. The 1-1 draw with Wrexham on Tuesday night was frustrating for coaching staff and supporters. The absence of a quality centre-forward appears a concern following the departure of record Premier League goalscorer Jamie Vardy. Maresca’s Leicester already had 21 points at this stage two years ago but the Cifuentes era was always likely to be a slow burner. Leicester face Swansea City this weekend and are in the top six. Yet the ongoing row with the authorities casts a difficult backdrop to their latest promotion bid. Leicester and the Premier League declined to comment.

This is the crux of it. Defensively we're not brilliant, but good enough for the Championship. Our glaring weakness is that we don't have a striker of the quality needed to get promoted, and our attacking play is generally too predictable for our wingers to do any real damage. We can't sign another striker until January and may not even be able to afford one then, so the only thing we can do in the meantime is try to have a bit more variety going forwards so that our other attacking players can pose more of a threat. That's a challenge for Cifuentes and his coaches.

Cifuentes has brought off James for two games in a row and on both occasions it has weakened us. I hope he has noticed.

Neither will play - Ward is injured and Coady was dropped from their squad at the weekend. In fact the only former Leicester player who started for them against Derby was Brunt, and while I'm sure he'll want to put on a good show I'm not convinced that will give him much of an edge...

Well that hardly seems fair!

I think Marti wants to crowbar BDCR into the side, so he may well end up as number 10. One would hope this would mean James dropping back to partner Winks, but I have a horrible feeling he'll leave James out entirely and stick with Soumare.

He won’t be playing.

Exactly. Actively seeking failure is an insane take for a football fan, but apparently one that some of our fans have. Very, very weird.

Alves is of Portuguese descent and that’s where his name comes from. His family may prefer the rhymes with valves pronunciation, but it wouldn’t have been that originally.

Hold on a sec though…

I like Cifuentes, but if James wasn’t injured and his decision to take him off was tactical, that is a genuine red flag. We immediately deteriorated.

Carranza was fouled for his yellow card. That was an outrageous decision. Monga dived, unfortunately.

Our failure to get Richard Kone is really going to cost us, isn’t it?

I actually thought Mav was alright tonight.

It doesn’t help matters when the ref is a ****.

Yes. Baffling decision that.

Some ridiculous overreaction on here. We’ve been the better side and have actually created a couple of very decent chances. Unfortunately if one of your centre halves decides to topple over as if he’s been shot by a sniper when the opposition are attacking, it can spell trouble. I’m still confident we’ll get something here. We need an actual centre forward on the pitch, though.

Except among the take a draw brigade, who will be put on the piss until Sunday afternoon.

We will win this.

Makes sure it doesn’t happen again. To miss one game to see an Oscar Wilde play, Mr Gamble92, may be regarded as a misfortune; to miss two would look like carelessness.

I think if a game is abandoned after 75mins they should either play the remaining minutes or (if it's close to the 90min mark) just let the result stand. All of the examples above were abandoned before 60mins, so I think a full replay was probably the right thing to do (though perhaps a little harsh on Plymouth).

Is there an actual brigade of people who would take a draw? Do they wear a uniform with a special insignia, and have a motto and a flag? Do they sing particular songs and hold an annual ceremony commemorating previous fans who were happy to take a draw but have sadly passed on?