Dean Smith wants Leicester to play without fear against Wolves

Boss Dean Smith has urged Leicester to forget their fears against Wolves as they battle to save their Premier League skins.

The Foxes host Wolves on Saturday sitting second bottom and two points from safety.

Leicester also go to fellow strugglers Leeds on Tuesday before hosting Everton in a crucial spell and Smith believes his new side need to be brave.

“We can’t play with any fear,” he said, having lost his opening game 3-1 at Manchester City after replacing Brendan Rodgers until the end of the season.

“We’ve looked at the quality we have on the training ground, we haven’t brought that onto the pitch over the last eight or nine games.

“What I saw against Bournemouth (a 1-0 defeat) was a lethargy. We need to be free and play with confidence.

“We’re taking it one game at a time, we knew the Man City game was going to be a unique one, given the level they are at compared to pretty much everyone else.

“Everyone knows how important this fixture is, hopefully we get to see a lift from the players and we can start how we finished at Manchester City.

“You’re not going to be defined on that (game). The games which are coming up – we can only look at Wolves to start with. Our results at home haven’t been where they should be.”

Ricardo Pereira remains out with a hamstring issue, with Jannik Vestergaard also sidelined. Harvey Barnes is close to a return following a hamstring injury but Smith will not risk the winger.

“I’ve got to balance that risk, I know he is going to start training on Sunday and be ready for Tuesday,” he said.

“It’s not an easy decision. He’s our top scorer but I’ve got to balance the risk and I feel the risk would be too much. He may have got minutes off the bench but the risk to reinjure is just too much.”