Ranieri looks to ‘Dragon Slayer’ Slimani

Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2016 by Foxsports.com

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri will lean heavily on summer arrival Islam Slimani during the Foxes' UEFA Champions League match against FC Porto on Tuesday.

Slimani, who joined the Premier League champions from Sporting on the final day of the European summer transfer window, has been nicknamed the 'Dragon Slayer' for his goal-scoring prowess against Porto while playing in the Portuguese league.

Whilst on the books of Sporting, the Algerian forward scored on six occasions against the 'Dragons', including one in his final appearance for his former club.

With this in mind, Ranieri believes Slimani's intimate knowledge of the two-time European champions would prove invaluable ahead of Tuesday's clash at the King Power Stadium.

"I spoke with [Slimani] about Porto," told reports during Monday's pre-match press-conference.

"We have a lot of respect for Porto. They're more experienced in Europe. They have played so many matches.

"They are used to staying at the top of their league. We respect them a lot but we will try to win. Porto will also try to win.

"Slimani has got to play. He's a goalscorer against Porto. I'm sure it would be a very good threat to them."

Ranieri's side beat Club Brugge 3-0 in their previous Champions League match and winger Marc Albrighton believes they will be thoroughly tested by the Portuguese giants.

"I wouldn't say Brugge was an easy game," he said.

"You don't play an easy game in this competition. Credit to us how we played out there.

"Porto will be as tough. We've got to be organised and compact. Going into this game we've done our work and what we need to know."