The Canaries stopped the rot in midweek with an uninspiring 1-1 draw against basement club Sheffield Wednesday, but are yet to pick up a single point on home turf and sit four points from safety after a winless run of 10 matches.
Leicester will arrive in Norfolk amid a difficult spell themselves, having won one of their 10 league games, most recently squandering a 1-0 lead over Middlesbrough in second-half stoppage time.
Cifuentes is surprised at Norwich’s struggles this season, but is wary that the game against his out-of-form Foxes is a chance for Liam Manning’s side to change the narrative ahead of the November international break.
“They are definitely a good club with good players. Probably not the start that they were looking for because they’ve got quality in their squad with a manager that knows the league and did a very good job at Bristol City,” Cifuentes said.
“I watched the game against Sheffield Wednesday, and they didn’t start well. Again, with chances for both teams, they managed to stop a little bit this trend of bad results. Probably before this international break, I think that for both teams, it’s a great opportunity to try to break a bad dynamic.
“It’s a good team with quality players, and they can change systems, they can play back four, they can play back three. So, yeah, it’s going to be a game that we need to be on top of again.”
Norwich’s struggles have culminated in fan protests and discontent with Manning and sporting director Ben Knapper facing calls to be dismissed.
Cifuentes is aware of the chance to turn Carrow Road, but is more interested in managing Norwich’s threats on the pitch.
“I don’t know all the details because when you are not involved, it’s difficult. But, of course, a club like Norwich with the history they’ve got and probably the targets for the season were not aligned with how they started,” he said.
“But I think that makes them dangerous at the moment. Obviously, when a team doesn’t get the results, there is as well a lack of confidence. But there is no doubt there is quality in that squad, that they’ve got a good manager and that they are a very good club.
“So despite the disappointing start of the season for them, I’m sure, I can expect that it’s going to be a very tough game because both teams, we come in not the best dynamic and we need to make sure that we compete at our best.”
