Team news

Hudson hands Bluebirds a boost Martyn Waghorn is expected to return to the Leicester squad for the visit of Championship leaders Cardiff - just 10 days after an operation to remove his appendix.

Waghorn played through the pain barrier against Barnsley a fortnight ago and was sent for surgery shortly after the 2-2 home draw against the Tykes.

The striker missed last weekend's defeat at Millwall but has resumed full training to put himself back in contention to face the table-topping Bluebirds.

Defenders Sean St Ledger and Michael Keane remain out with hamstring injuries, with St Ledger currently in Germany seeing a specialist about the problem that has kept him out for two-and-a-half months.

Ahead of Saturday's game, Leicester boss Nigel Pearson told the media: "After last week's defeat, it's important to bounce back. We have two games coming up against teams above us and it's important we take points from both games.

"They (Cardiff) are a side that has done exceptionally well this season, but it will be a tough game for both sides.

"They're similar to us in many ways and we've got to make sure our performance warrants us getting the three points." Cardiff captain Mark Hudson is set to return to their starting line-up after missing the shock defeat to Peterborough.

The 30-year-old centre-back has served his one-match ban for his fifth yellow card of the season and looks likely to partner Ben Turner at the heart of the Bluebirds' defence.

That would leave Kevin McNaughton and Matt Connolly to battle it out for the right-back slot.

Manager Malky Mackay also has midfielders Jordon Mutch and Aron Gunnarsson pushing for recalls.

Former Watford attacker Tommy Smith is edging closer to a return to action with Mackay wary of rushing him back into action.

Leicester vs Cardiff

Last modified 17:24 22/12/12

Bluebirds win at Leicester Cardiff bounced back from their surprise home defeat to Peterborough with a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory at Leicester to move three points clear at the top of the npower Championship.

Leicester laid siege to the Bluebirds' goal in the first half with chance after chance going begging.

David Marshall made a handful of saves to keep the Foxes at bay and, when he was beaten by Andy King's long-range effort, a post came to his rescue.

Craig Bellamy looked a threat on the counter-attack throughout and it was he who grabbed the only goal of the game against the run of play after 25 minutes.

The Wales international showed great technique after collecting Craig Conway's pass to find the bottom left-hand corner of the net from 12 yards out.

That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Leicester, who created very little afterward.

The Foxes were unchanged from the side that started last weekend's defeat at Millwall, although striker Martyn Waghorn was fit enough for a place on the bench following surgery to remove his appendix.

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay made three changes after seeing his side's 100% home record ended by struggling Peterborough.

Mark Hudson returned to skipper the side after suspension, which saw Matt Connolly revert to right-back and Kevin McNaughton drop to the bench.

Kim Bo-kyung was also restored to the starting line up in place of Craig Noone, while Jordon Mutch took the place of Don Cowie.

Leicester started brightly with Danny Drinkwater firing over early on.

David Nugent became the first home player of the afternoon to be frustrated by Marshall when the Scot parried his effort from the edge of the area.

King struck a post after 13 minutes when the ball broke to him outside the area after Marshall had kept out Wes Morgan's header.

Marshall then twice denied Anthony Knockaert when the Frenchman let fly from long range before Bellamy delivered the killer blow for the Foxes.

Jamie Vardy might have done better than head over the crossbar before half-time in what turned out to be Leicester's final real chance.

Pearson's side tried to push for an equalising goal in the second half, but were always wary of the threat caused by Bellamy's pace, perhaps preventing them from committing as many players forward as they would have liked.

Nugent and substitute Ben Marshall fired in shots from outside the box but never worried the Cardiff keeper.

Back-to-back defeats are a blow to Leicester's automatic promotion aspirations, which will come under intense scrutiny again on Boxing Day when they travel to Pearson's former club Hull.

The victory gives Cardiff a slight cushion ahead of their home game against title rivals Crystal Palace in four day's time.