Preview: Ipswich Town vs Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from their opening-day Premier League win, Ipswich Town will welcome familiar opponents - League One side Leicester City - to Portman Road on Tuesday, for a showdown in the second round of the EFL Cup.

The Tractor Boys are in excellent form overall, while the Foxes have struggled at the start of 2026-27.

Match preview

Ipswich were promoted to the top flight by finishing as runners-up during the 2025-26 Championship campaign, but fans were concerned about the future when then-manager Kieran McKenna stepped down in the summer.

However, the Tractor Boys have fared well under new boss Gary O'Neil so far, even if the former Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach lost his first two friendlies in the dugout - 2-1 against Osasuna on July 29, and 2-0 against Oxford United on August 1.

After getting to grips with O'Neil's demands, the Blues bounced back from those defeats by rounding out their pre-season schedule with four consecutive victories, including an impressive 3-0 triumph over Rayo Vallecano and a 4-2 win away to Union Berlin.

Ipswich added to their growing confidence by taking all three points from their Premier League opener, beating Sunderland 2-1 on Saturday in a display that will fill fans with optimism for the campaign ahead.

That success saw the Tractor Boys take the lead through Emersonn midway into the first half, and showcased the team's mentality when Jack Clarke secured the victory with a 90th-minute winner.

Having shown promise in pre-season and confirmed their capabilities in the Premier League, O'Neil's side will be expecting to progress on Tuesday, though they must remain focused to avoid an upset.

Meanwhile, Russell Martin's Leicester have endured a contrastingly poor opening to the 2026-27 season, and the manager will be hoping to fuel a turnaround with a positive result in midweek.

The Foxes were relegated to League One after finishing 23rd in the Championship last term, and while they will be desperate to bounce back immediately, the club drew their first third-tier fixture 1-1 against Notts County before losing 2-1 to Burton Albion on Saturday.

In fact, Martin's only victory of the campaign across all competitions came in the first round of the EFL Cup, when his team beat Northampton Town 1-0 on August 8.

However, Leicester may take heart from the fact that they collected four points from a possible six against Ipswich in last season's Championship, emerging 3-1 winners in December 2025, and drawing 1-1 on March 7 this year.

Additionally, Tuesday's visitors are unbeaten in their six most recent away matches overall, winning four and drawing two, not to mention that the Foxes have only lost one of their last eight competitive outings on the road.

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

Leicester City EFL Cup form:

Leicester City form (all competitions):

Team News

Ipswich have doubts about the fitness of defensive midfielders Florentino Luis and Azor Matusiwa, the latter of whom is recovering from a muscle injury he picked up on August 10.

If neither are available in midweek, then O'Neil could opt for a double pivot of Marcelino Nunez and Sasa Lukic at the base of his midfield.

Further forward, Emersonn could lead the line once again, supported in attack by a trio of Abdul Fatawu, Julio Enciso and Daizen Maeda.

As for Leicester, manager Martin may name a similar lineup to the one that beat Northampton in the first round.

With that in mind, expect to see Jakub Stolarczyk start in goal, protected by a centre-half pairing of Harry Souttar and Caleb Okoli, with Jayden Joseph and Luke Thomas as full-backs.

Former Tottenham Hotspur man Oliver Skipp is ready to operate behind Sammy Braybrooke and Liam Cullen in the centre of the park, while Stephy Mavididi and William Alves flank Bobby De Cordova-Reid up top.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; O'Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Nunez, Lukic; Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda; Emersonn

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Stolarczyk; Joseph, Souttar, Okoli, Thomas; Skipp; Alves, Braybrooke, Cullen, Mavididi; Reid

We say: Ipswich Town 2-1 Leicester City

Ipswich have grown in confidence under new manager O'Neil, and after beating Sunderland at the weekend, they will be expecting to win in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

By contrast, Leicester are still getting to grips with life under Martin, and given their League One status, they will come into this contest as significant underdogs.

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