Forget Bilal El Khannouss, Marti Cifuentes must be brave and start Leicester City youngster vs Birmingham City

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Leicester City face their toughest test of the season so far when they face Birmingham City.

Both teams are the favourites in the Championship promotion race and will get a good measure of where they are at this stage of the season.

Bilal El Khannouss missed the Foxes’ win against Charlton Athletic after Marti Cifuentes took him out of the transfer spotlight, but, with El Khannouss set to stay at Leicester, it’s likely that he will come back into the starting XI.

Although the return of the midfielder will excite supporters, there is also a chance to be bold and play one youngster.

Ben Nelson should start for Leicester City vs Birmingham City

This season was set to be the year for a changing of the guard at centre-back. Wout Faes is wanted by Besiktas and could be off while Jannik Vestergaard was likely to be phased out of the side.

Ben Nelson earned rave reviews in pre-season and even wore the captain’s armband at one point.

However, Nelson has had to settle for a spot on the bench and struggled against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup.

Against Birmingham, the Foxes backline will come up against a pacey attack featuring the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and former Leicester player Demarai Gray.

Nelson may not be the fastest in the world, but is more capable of covering the distance required to track these players.

Cifuentes would be taking a big gamble with the 21-year-old, but one that would be most welcome.

Ben Nelson and Caleb Okoli are the future of Leicester City

As well as Nelson, there is also Caleb Okoli, 24, who has started all three Championship games this season.

Both have long careers ahead of them in comparison to the other centre-back options and therefore could form the foundations of a defensive partnership that could last for years to come.

In order for it to flourish, the two need to play together and be exposed to high-pressure scenarios.

A game against a fellow promotion rival is the perfect time to do that and the two need a run of games to prove that they can lead the next generation of the Foxes.