Dean Smith wants Leicester to play without fear against Wolves

Boss Dean Smith has urged Leicester to forget their fears against Wolves as they fight to save their Premier League skins.

The Foxes host the Wolves on Saturday sitting in second place and two points from safety.

Leicester will also go to Leeds, another of his teammates, on Tuesday before hosting Everton in a crucial period and Smith believes his new team must be brave.

“We can’t play with any fear,” he said, having lost his first game 3-1 at Manchester City after replacing Brendan Rodgers until the end of the season.

“We have looked at the quality that we have in the training field, we have not brought it to the field in the last eight or nine games.

“What I saw against Bournemouth (a 1-0 defeat) was lethargy. We need to be free and play with confidence.

“We are taking it one game at a time, we knew the Man City game was going to be unique given the level they are at compared to almost everyone else.

“Everyone knows how important this game is, I hope we can see momentum from the players and we can start like we finished at Manchester City.

“You’re not going to be defined in that (game). The games ahead, we can only look at Wolves to start. Our results at home have not been where they should be.”

Ricardo Pereira remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, with Jannik Vestergaard also sidelined. Harvey Barnes is close to returning from a hamstring injury, but Smith won’t risk the winger.

“I have to balance that risk, I know he will start training on Sunday and be ready for Tuesday,” he said.

“It is not an easy decision. He is our top scorer but I have to balance the risk and I feel the risk would be too much. He may have had minutes off the bench, but the risk of re-injuring himself is too much.”