Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy revealed in his recent autobiography that Chris Smalling is his most difficult opponent, and the Manchester United defender is determined to come out on top in their latest duel.
Vardy came off the bench to score an injury-time penalty against Manchester City on Tuesday to maintain his impressive record of finding the target against top sides. Smalling, who knows the 30-year-old from international duty with England, is in fine form himself after making 21 consecutive appearances (19 as a starter).
"Vardy runs in behind which, as a defender, is the hardest thing to deal with but I am looking forward to that battle and hopefully I'll be able to keep him quiet."
“Yes, he is a threat,”
Smalling told MUTV ahead of Saturday night's match at the King Power Stadium. “I enjoy my tussles with 'Vards'.
”He is someone who is a bit of a nightmare for defenders because he is often ratting around and chasing with non-stop running.
“He runs in behind which, as a defender, is the hardest thing to deal with, but I will be looking forward to that battle and hopefully I'll be able to keep him quiet.”
We have won all four previous clashes with Leicester under Jose Mourinho, including a commanding 3-0 victory at The King Power Stadium back in February.
Leicester have other players of genuine quality and it will be a testing occasion for United in the final outing before Christmas Day.
“They know what they are about,”
added Smalling. “When you play Leicester, you know how they are going to play. You know their qualities and their wingers - Demarai Gray is coming into the team and Riyad Mahrez is in form as well.
”So those are the players we need to keep quiet and, when we get the ball, we need to make sure that we get at their backline.“
Watch more from Chris Smalling's interview in Match Day on MUTV this Saturday from 17:45 GMT.