Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes Leicester City are "a great addition to the Premier League".
City secured a 1-0 victory over the Toffees in their pre-season friendly in Thailand on Sunday ahead of their meeting on the opening day of the Premier League campaign on August 16.
Martinez was without many of his star players for the game in Bangkok. Ross Barkley, Kevin Miralles and Leighton Baines were all out, while Nigel Pearson utilised the majority of his squad.
Even though Martinez said the contest will have little bearing on the game at the King Power Stadium, he said he still expects City to pose a strong threat.
"They are a great addition to the Premier League," he said.
"You can never be happy when you lose a game but we have to be realistic, we are still in pre-season and we are still working towards achieving our best level."
The conditions were almost unbearable inside the Supachalasai Stadium, with the heat and humidity pushing both sets of players to their limits.
"It was always going to be a tight game because the conditions were very difficult for both teams but I must admit I thought the game was even more open than I expected, there were a few chances and we had a couple of opportunities to score. The first goal was vital" said Martinez. "It was a difficult mental exercise in many aspects. It is the type of game where you have to really get through a lot of physical pain but it worked really well to get some volume and good precision work and, in that respect, I'm very happy."
Pearson was also keen to emphasise that the meeting on the opening day will be much different.
City dominated much of the second half on Sunday, as Everton looked to blood some of their youngsters.
Pearson admitted that this will not be the case next month.
"We go into this new season and we are not going to be the best team in the Premier League. But we have got good players who understand our own strengths and weaknesses," said Pearson.
"I think that is always a very important aspect of playing in any game. You have got to know what you are good at, you have got to know where you need to be a little more streetwise.
"This has been a good experience for the players but, once the season starts, it will be very different. But I am very pleased with how we approached the game."
