LEICESTER City's Conor Coady admitted his side will need their supporters "more than ever" ahead of facing Saints this evening.

Russell Martin's Southampton visit the Foxes just a few days after their 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City dealt a massive blow to their automatic promotion hopes.

Southampton are currently six points off second place, having played one less than Leeds United, with three games remaining.

Leicester are currently top of the table, two points clear of third place Ipswich Town, and a win over Saints would edge them closer to a Premier League return.

Leicester have had their own struggles recently and defender Coady has pointed out the importance of the home supporters ahead of tonight's key Championship clash.

"It’s the only game that we can think about," said Coady. "We know that come 8:00pm on Tuesday evening when we step back on the grass, it’s go time.

"It’s important that we’re focused on what we need. It’s massive, it’s everything for us. The lads have spoken about it.

"This place is where we want to play football. We’d play here every week if we could. To be on the pitch and play in front of the crowd is fantastic.

READ MORE: 'Find a way' - Martin responds to poor record without Downes

"The supporters understand how much we need them at this moment in time.

"We understand what is at stake, what we’re all playing for, what the supporters want and how they turn up to support us every week.

"There is a focus within that dressing room and that is the most important thing moving forward.

“We had four games; we’ve won the first one and now we’ve got three. It’s a huge on Tuesday against a real top side and we’ll need this crowd more than ever.

"Tuesday night under the lights, it can’t be better, so it’s something that we’re really looking forward to.”

Leicester could be boosted by the return of Ricardo Pereira, who was on the bench for their 2-1 win over West Brom.

READ MORE: 'Come on you Saints' - Bazunu issues classy message to fans after serious injury

Hamza Choudhury produced a player of the match performance while filling in at right-back on Saturday.

Despite his impressive outing, which saw him clear the ball off the line three times, manager Enzo Maresca admitted the Portuguese full-back could return this evening.

Daily Echo: Ricardo PereiraRicardo Pereira (Image: PA)

He said: "Ricky was on the bench (against West Brom), he could be available for Tuesday. Now we’ll see. He didn’t train all week with us. Even on Friday, he was not with us.

"I spoke to him and we decided, at this stage of the season, that even five or 10 minutes, every player is important.

"We said: ‘Come with us in case we need – hopefully not – but you can come in’. Hamza was fantastic. Hamza knows very well his role."