Everton boss Frank Lampard has insisted that Leicester City's recent resurgence in the Premier League did not come as a surprise.
After a difficult summer in the transfer market, the Foxes spent much of the opening weeks of the season in the Premier League relegation zone.
At one stage, it appeared more likely than not that Brendan Rodgers would be removed from his position in the dugout, but Leicester are now enjoying their best period of the season.
Before last weekend's 1-0 reverse at home to Manchester City, Leicester collected seven points from matches against Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Although Leicester remain in the bottom three, the East Midlands outfit will move above Everton if they prevail by a two-goal margin or greater at Goodison Park on Saturday evening.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Lampard praised the resilience of Leicester's squad, as well as paying credit to his opposite number Rodgers.
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The Englishman told reporters: "It is tight and they've shown they are a great team. They had a tough patch but it shows resilience that they've turned a corner.
"It was never in doubt, they've worked together for a few years with a very good manager. He's been there.
On Rodgers, Lampard added: "He's won titles at Celtic, managed a club that size of Liverpool and nearly won the Premier League. All those things are in the bag for him. It's going to be a really tough match for us."
Although Everton are generally favoured to win in front of their own supporters, just eight points have been collected from their six home fixtures this campaign.
Meanwhile, Leicester recently had the worst away record in the Premier League, losing five matches in succession before they thrashed Wolves 4-0 at Molineux.
Rodgers's team head into this fixture looking to extend a 22-year streak against their upcoming opponents.
Darren Plant
