IPSWICH Town boss Paul Jewell believes today’s opponents Leicester City will be a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season.

The Foxes spent millions on new players during a frantic summer spending spree on a host of Premier League-experienced players that made them the envy of the Championship.

But with that came huge expectancy and ultimately cost former manager Sven Goran Eriksson his job.

Now Nigel Pearson has steadied the ship somewhat – although consistency remains a problem and they go into today’s 3pm kick off with just one point from their last three matches.

But Jewell insisted: “They were pre-season favourites for promotion and I still think they will get in the top echelons of the league – with the quality they have got.

“It is going to be a tough game. They pose a difficult challenge. Doncaster beat them on Saturday, but this league is unpredictable.

“They have too much quality and firepower in their team not to be a force to be reckoned with. Second half of the season, I think you will see Leicester come strong.”

Foxes boss Nigel Pearson, whose side were booed off in the 2-1 defeat by Doncaster, believes his side will need to be at their best to beat an Ipswich team who enjoyed back-to-back wins before Christmas.

Pearson said: “ Ipswich have hit a bit of form of late, but I am looking from a response from our own players after the last couple of games.

“Ipswich is a fixture which, because of their recent upturn, I’m looking for us to be playing as close to our maximum as possible.

“We always strive to do that and, if we do, we will be a difficult team to beat. It is all about us being positive.”

And right-back Lee Peltier, who signed from Huddersfield in the summer, said: “Training has been really sharp and everyone is looking forward to the game against Ipswich and putting in some big performances.

“They’ve got a great squad, the two strikers up front, Michael Chopra and Jason Scotland, pose a big threat but I think we’ve got the players to nullify that.”