Leicester City's Youri Tielemans to return for Manchester City meeting

After being appointed as Brendan Rodgers's successor on a short-term deal until the end of the season, Smith is tasked with keeping Leicester in the Premier League.

The former Norwich City manager has taken over a side that are currently languishing in the relegation zone with two points separating them from safety.

Smith will begin his tenure with a difficult away trip to the Etihad Stadium, and he will be hoping to end Leicester's nine-game winless run in all competitions.

In his first pre-match press conference as Leicester boss, Smith revealed that Tielemans will be involved in some capacity, having recovered from an ankle injury, which has kept him out of the last seven games.

"(Tielemans) is available for selection," Smith said. "He hasn't done a lot of minutes in training, so we'll have to assess whether he's ready to start or to come on as a sub. He'll play a big part.

"I look at the likes of him and Jonny (Evans), and I think they give the team calmness. They give them experience and give them quality as well, so they're going to be very important."

Like Tielemans, Jonny Evans has also been struggling with injury issues, but after being an unused substitute against Bournemouth last weekend, the Northern Ireland international will be hoping to make his first Premier League start since October.

However, it is not all good news on the injury front for the Foxes after Smith ruled Ricardo Pereira and Harvey Barnes's out of Saturday's contest.

"Ricky felt his hamstring after the game last week," Smith told reporters. "His looks a little bit worse than Harvey's.

"He's going to be out for a few weeks, whereas Harvey's is in an area of the hamstring that you're a little bit less concerned about. That takes away a little bit of our wide options."

The Foxes are still expected to be without the services of full-backs James Justin and Ryan Bertrand due to injury issues.

They will be able to call upon Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall though, with the midfielder set to return following a one-match suspension.