Having ended a wretched run of defeats last week, Fleetwood Town host Leicester City Under-21s on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy.
The Cod Army will get their Northern Section Group G campaign up and running with a visit from the Foxes' next generation to Highbury Stadium.
Match preview
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Following an inconsistent season last time out in League One - ultimately finishing 15th in the table - Fleetwood started the current campaign in a similar vein and only a recent uplift in results has helped them recover from three losses to kick off 2021-22.
Last week's 3-2 victory over Cheltenham Town - when teenage forward Shayden Morris dramatically stole the points with a 90th-minute winner - came as a great relief to boss Simon Grayson, who took over from Joey Barton in January.
The well-travelled manager has a history of playoff success, but faces a tough task to steer his current club to the top end of the league standings, with several big-name rivals also vying for promotion to the second tier.
His side managed to build upon that first win on Saturday, as they came away from Plymouth with a 1-1 draw despite conceding most of the possession - so will now hope to generate further momentum with success in their EFL Trophy opener.
Fleetwood have already gone out of the EFL Cup to Stoke City earlier this month, and are undoubtedly eager to fare better in the competition for clubs in League One and League Two - plus 16 Premier League academy teams.
In a group also featuring Accrington, Barrow and their midweek opponents Leicester Under-21s, Grayson and company will fancy their chances of progressing to the next stage as one of the section's top two, but will be wary of the potential that Leicester's youngsters possess.
The Midlands club's academy has been particularly successful over recent years, with many of its graduates - including Harvey Barnes, Ben Chilwell and Andy King - going on to represent the senior side and their nations with distinction.
The current crop of Leicester talents will travel north expecting to gain valuable experience in pro-level football, but also with the aim of taking a big step towards making it through to the next phase once again.
City's development squad reached the quarter-finals in 2019-20, while they faced Tranmere Rovers in last term's third round, where they were beaten 4-2 after coming through their group and then beating Salford City.
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Team News
Former Liverpool academy graduate Jordan Rossiter should lead out Fleetwood as captain, with the 24-year-old skipper possibly joined by Ireland international Anthony Pilkington and young Jay Matete in midfield, after the latter pair appeared as substitutes at Plymouth.
On Saturday, Simon Grayson made two changes to the side that previously edged past Cheltenham Town, as Ged Garner and Callum Morton came into the side at the expense of Ryan Edmondson and Pilkington. In an effort to rotate his resources and keep legs fresh for next weekend, Leeds loanee Edmondson may also come back into Grayson's starting XI.
Having switched between a 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 formation of late, the former Preston boss may also make further changes against inexperienced opposition.
Leicester, meanwhile, are set to bring a side comprised of eligible players from their Under-23 and Under-18 setups to the North-West, with captain Vontae Daley-Campbell a candidate to start at right-back and former Manchester City academy attendee Callum Hulme a potential midfield starter.
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Cairns; Hill, Andrew, Clarke; Clark, Rossiter, Matete, Halliday; Pilkington, Edmondson, Morris
Leicester City Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Odunze; Daley-Campbell, Nelson, Flynn, Hughes; Fitzhugh, Hulme, McAteer, Ewing; Wakeling, Reghba
We say: Fleetwood Town 1-0 Leicester City Under-21s
Though Fleetwood have faltered somewhat at the start of the season, they are likely to select a side which will gain confidence from beating a Leicester development team featuring plenty of talent.
A manager of Simon Grayson's nous will surely be aware that a second win from three games would prove the perfect preparation for Wigan's visit next Saturday, so motivation should not be a concern.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fleetwood Town win with a probability of 62.25%. A draw had a probability of 19.9% and a win for Leicester City Under-21s had a probability of 17.84%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fleetwood Town win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.19%) and 1-0 (8.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.11%), while for a Leicester City Under-21s win it was 1-2 (4.89%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 3.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Fleetwood Town would win this match.
