Van Nistelrooy demands 'fight' for United clash
Luke Thomas says Ruud van Nistelrooy always demands fight from Leicester City as its bid to stay in the Premier League continues against Manchester United on Monday (AEDT).
Leicester is six points from safety, sitting 19th on the table, and has lost 12 of its past 13 games in the competition.
It has endured a torrid run at home, losing each of its past six without hitting the net.
Despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend, it was a positive performance from Leicester, and Thomas believes it can use that as a springboard for the remaining 10 games of the season.
"I think if we can take this into the rest of the season, we've got a real chance of getting some wins and hopefully staying in the league," Thomas said.
"[Van Nistelrooy] demands [fight] every week – week in, week out. We had a change of formation [against Chelsea] and I think that helped us in a way.
"It helped us, and hopefully we can do that again. It was a positive performance coming off the back of the results we've had recently and the performances that we've shown in recent games."
Meanwhile, United is 14th on the table, but has a chance to extend its unbeaten streak to four games in the competition at King Power Stadium.
It goes into this game on a high, having secured a place in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals with a convincing 4-1 win over 10-man Real Sociedad in the second leg of the Round of 16.
Ruben Amorim is hopeful his side's progress in Europe can influence its performances in the Premier League.
"In that context [reaching the last eight], it's also important to give us more energy to continue the season," Amorim said.
"We know that. It's not going to change a lot the idea for the next season, but it will give us more energy to finish the season in a different way.
"It was a really important game for us. We are ready."