EDDIE Howe expressed his admiration for Leicester City boss Claude Puel ahead of the sides’ showdown at King Power Stadium tomorrow (3pm).

Frenchman Puel was appointed manager of the Foxes in October after the departure of former boss Craig Shakespeare.

The 56-year-old guided Southampton to eighth in the Premier League last season and also took them to the EFL Cup final where they lost to Manchester United.

Howe has been impressed by the work of the former Monaco boss, who also has the likes of Lille and Lyon on his managerial CV.

Asked about the Foxes, Howe told the club website: “They are a good team and a team who won the title not so long ago. They are very similar in terms of personnel, I don't think they have changed too much.

"Claude Puel has come in and slightly tweaked their way of playing. They are a more possession-based team now and it suits them.

"He has done another good job. I thought he did very well at Southampton last year and he has done some really good work with his Leicester team.

"You can see the team is now playing as he wants it to. They have some talented players and a good way of playing.

“They still have their counter-attack threat which they had in their title-winning season, so they have a good mix of how to play.

“We are well aware of their threats so we need to be ready for a tough game.”

Cherries are unbeaten in five Premier League games against Leicester, with four draws and one victory.