The Championship takes on the Premier League when Hull City host Leicester City in the fourth round of the League Cup on Tuesday night at the KC Stadium.
The hosts go into the match in good form, while three-time winners Leicester are riding high in the top half of the Premier League and will fancy their chances of maintaining their good run against the Tigers.
Hull City
© Getty Images
Hull City will be bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup for the first time in their history when they take on Leicester.
Steve Bruce's side are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions, which has not only seen them progress in this tournament but also climb the Championship standings.
The Tigers moved up to second in the table on goal difference over the weekend courtesy of their 2-0 win over Birmingham City and are now four points behind leaders Brighton & Hove Albion.
Hull, who have reached the fourth round on four previous occasions, have won just two of their last 10 home League Cup fixtures against top-flight sides, conceding 25 goals in that run.
They do, however, have the best defensive record in the Championship this season and, with the likes of Michael Dawson offering plenty of Premier League experience at centre-back, they will fancy their chances of shutting out Leicester.
Recent form: LWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWWW
Leicester City
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Leicester have been one of the surprise packages in the Premier League this season, making an impressive start under new manager Claudio Ranieri.
The Italian has guided the Foxes to the lofty heights of fifth in the table, which is all the more impressive when you consider that they only just stayed up last season under Nigel Pearson.
The East Midlanders have lost just one of their 10 league games so far, and that run continued on Saturday as they saw off Crystal Palace 1-0 at the King Power Stadium thanks to another goal from Jamie Vardy.
The striker has scored in seven Premier League matches on the bounce, although he could be rested for the trip to Hull.
Leicester have won the League Cup three times, in 1964, 1997 and 2000, but they have struggled to repeat those successes in the competition since. Their best showing was in the 2013-14 season, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Manchester City.
A good omen for Ranieri and his men going into the clash at the KC is that Leicester have progressed from 13 consecutive away League Cup games against sides from a lower division than them, going back to September 2001.
Recent form: DWDLWD
Recent form (all competitions): DWLWDW
Team News
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Hull are without Alex Bruce and Sone Aluko after they picked up injuries over the weekend, while Curtis Davies remains sidelined with a calf problem.
With no Bruce or Davies available, Harry Maguire is expected to start in defence. Tom Huddlestone and Mohamed Diame are expected to return in midfield, while Shaun Maloney could start in attack.
For Leicester, Ranieri has confirmed that he will make a number of changes.
Gokhan Inler, Shinji Okazaki, Andrej Kramaric, Nathan Dyer and Mark Schwarzer are expected to be among the names brought into the side, with Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, and Kasper Schmeichel among those missing out.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Odubajo, Dawson, Maguire, Robertson; Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Diame, Clucas; Hernandez
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schwarzer; De Laet, Wasilewski, Morgan, Fuchs; Albrighton, Inler, King, Dyer; Okazaki, Kramaric
Head To Head
Hull and Leicester have met in the League Cup twice before. They played in the second round of the competition in the 1973-74 season, which Leicester won in a replay, and in the first round in 2002-03, with Leicester victorious 4-2 against a Hull side who were in the fourth tier at that time.
Hull have not beaten Leicester in their last five meetings, with the Tigers last coming out on top in December 2011. Goals from Matty Fryatt and Robert Koren gave them a 2-1 win in the Championship on that occasion.
We say: Hull City 1-2 Leicester City
Both these sides come into this match in fine form in their respective leagues. Hull will fancy that they have a chance against a weakened Leicester side, but the Foxes should still have enough quality to emerge from this tie.
Steven Toplis
