Kasper Schmeichel urges Leicester to continue defying odds when they face PSV

Kasper Schmeichel has urged Leicester to upset the establishment again when they face PSV Eindhoven in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

The Foxes head to Holland with the quarter-final tie finely poised after last week’s 0-0 first-leg draw at the King Power Stadium.

It is Leicester’s second European quarter-final after their 2-1 aggregate defeat to Atletico Madrid in the last eight of the Champions League five years ago.

Schmeichel, who is one of seven players still at the club from 2016-17, has won the Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield with the Foxes, having seen their remarkable rise after winning the Championship in 2014.

And the Denmark goalkeeper wants unfavoured Leicester to continue to defy the odds.

He said: “We probably aren’t the biggest, flashiest club about but we have consistently been able to mix it with the big boys and have done a good job of it so far.

“As a club we have grown incredibly. We are sitting in the best training ground in the country, we have been in European competitions, we have won trophies and we are constantly trying to fight on all fronts.

“That’s where all the fun is. To have experiences like this, winning the FA Cup, winning the Community Shield, the Premier League – these are moments in history which we are fighting for every single day.

“It’s really important a club like this keeps progressing and keeps that hunger and desire at every level, not just a football level.”

Schmeichel saved two Wilfried Zaha penalties in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, only for the striker to nod in the rebound from the second after VAR initially ordered the first to be retaken.

He is ready for a shoot-out if it comes to it but he knows Leicester cannot rely on taking it to penalties.

“We’ve got to score, simple as,” the 35-year-old said. “We played well in the first leg, we probably have to start quicker than we did but once we got into our stride we played very well. All that was missing was a couple of goals.

“We had a similar situation in Rennes (in the round-of-16 tie last month) where there was a lot of noise and an expectant crowd. This will be no different. The expectation which we set ourselves couldn’t really be higher.

“These are the types of games you want to play in, everything is on the line and you can end up with big prizes. It’s a massive occasion for us.”

Jamie Vardy (knee) remains out for boss Brendan Rodgers with Wilfred Ndidi (knee) also sidelined for the season but Jonny Evans will return after being rested against Palace.

Rodgers said: “We are a club unlike PSV, who have qualified for 48 European competitions on the trot which shows you the history they have. We are the complete opposite to that.

“This is a great opportunity for us. We are ready to grasp it. The first leg gives us great motivation we can do that and we will fight and do everything we can to get to the semi-final.”