Leicester City took a drastic step when they fired the manager that led them to their only ever league title. And while the immediate results in the league have improved since Claudio Ranieri was given the sack, Leicester will want to take that form into the Champions League as well when they host Sevilla in the second leg of the round of 16.
Champions League results from first leg
Sevilla have the upper hand going into the second leg, even if only a slim one, after the Spanish side picked up a 2-1 win in Seville, in what was to be Ranieri's final game in charge.
In a match that Sevilla dominated, Leicester got a crucial away goal through Jamie Vardy, and that could prove to be the vital strike that decides the outcome of this last 16 tie.
Thanks to that Vardy goal, Leicester can go through to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in their history if they beat Sevilla 1-0 at the King Power Stadium.
With no Premier League game to worry about last weekend, Leicester have had plenty of time to get ready for this game, and Shakespeare, named as the manager until the end of the season, is expected to field his best possible XI.
Only Nampalys Mendy has been ruled out of the game, with the midfielder picking up a minor knee injury during training.
"Papy Mendy had a knock on his knee a couple of days ago," Shakespeare said. "He'll be struggling. We may be back for the weekend but he'll definitely miss (the Sevilla) match."
So, while Mendy is out, Shakespeare will have the opportunity to choose his first-choice players, primarily the ones that got Leicester into the Champions League thanks to their Premier League heroics last season.
The attitude of those players was brought into question when Leicester were struggling for results under Ranieri this season, but with two wins in two since, and quite impressive ones at that – both with 3-1 scorelines – those same players have showed they quality.
So, the likes of Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Drinkwater, Roberth Huth and Wes Morgan need to step up and make this night another one of those that their fans will never forget.
Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli, who has worked wonders since taking over at the club, does not have any new injury problems to deal with. Benoit Tremoulinas and Michael Krohn-Dehli are long-term injury victims.
Expected starting XI:
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Ndidi, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.
Sevilla: Rico; Pareja, Rami, Mercado; Mariano, N'Zonzi, Nasri, Escudero; Iborra, Vitolo, Jovetic.
