Leicester City and Manchester City will lock horns at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night with a spot in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup up for grabs.
Leicester will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend, but league leaders Man City will be full of confidence after winning their 16th straight top-flight match on Saturday night.
Leicester
© SilverHub
Claude Puel has made a very positive impression since taking charge of Leicester, but the Foxes will enter Tuesday's EFL Cup quarter-final off the back of a shock 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The former English champions had won their last four in the league entering the clash with Palace, but Roy Hodgson's side recorded an impressive victory at the King Power to continue their pursuit up the table.
Leicester might well feel that they have bigger fish to fry as they prepare to welcome Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, but a spot in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup is within touching distance, and the supporters will certainly be up for the match under the lights on Tuesday night.
Leicester are actually three-time winners of this particular competition, with their last success occurring in 2000. They have had to win three matches to progress to this stage – overcoming Sheffield United, Liverpool and Leeds United to move within two rounds of a spot in February's final.
Man City have already travelled to the King Power Stadium this season, with the Citizens recording a 2-0 victory in the Premier League last month. The Foxes have also lost to Chelsea and Liverpool on home soil this term, and will be wary of suffering another defeat ahead of the clash with United this weekend.
Leicester will feel that they can challenge for a top-six position in the Premier League this season, but with Man City expected to ring the changes for Tuesday's match, the Foxes should not pass up the chance to have a real go.
Recent form: WWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWWL
Man City
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This Man City outfit need to win trophies to be considered as one of the best to play in the Premier League, but there is no doubting that Pep Guardiola has turned the Citizens into a quite brilliant football team.
Saturday's 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League moved them onto 52 points, and they have an 11-point lead over second-placed Manchester United entering the festive break.
Sixteen wins and one draw from 17 Premier League matches this season is a staggering run of form, while Man City also breezed through their Champions League group to book their spot in the knockout round of the competition.
They will face Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace in their final three Premier League matches of 2017, and it looks increasingly likely that the Citizens will run away with the Premier League title this season.
Guardiola's second team did lose 2-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League earlier this month, however, and they have not exactly been convincing in the EFL Cup this season – narrowly beating West Bromwich Albion before needing penalties to overcome Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The League Cup is a competition that Man City have won on four occasions – the last of which came in 2016. It is not a trophy that Guardiola would have identified at the start of the season, but there is a sense that the Spaniard wants to win everything on offer this term.
Man City have not lost a domestic match since the semi-finals of last season's FA Cup. They were terrific against Tottenham on Saturday, and have been near-perfect on their travels in all competitions this season.
Recent form: WW
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWWW
Team News
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Leicester boss Puel could hand Kelechi Iheanacho a start against his former club, while Andy King, Shinji Okazaki and Ben Hamer are pushing for places in the XI.
Jamie Vardy's involvement is an interesting one as Puel considers resting the England international ahead of the clash with United, and Riyad Mahrez could also be given a break following a busy run of fixtures.
Aleksandar Dragovic and Christian Fuchs both stayed on the bench against Palace at the weekend, and should come into the XI.
As for Man City, Guardiola will shuffle his pack following the clash with Tottenham.
Claudio Bravo, Brahim Diaz, Yaya Toure and Bernardo Silva are among those that are expected to start at the King Power Stadium, while 20-year-old defender Tosin Adarabioyo should also feature once again.
Phil Foden will also be hoping to play a part for the visitors, who should have Gabriel Jesus leading their line after the Brazilian started on the bench at the weekend.
Leicester possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Amartey, Dragovic, Maguire, Fuchs; Iborra, King; Albrighton, Okazaki, Gray; Iheanacho
Man City possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Danilo, Mangala, Abarabioyo, Delph; Toure, Gundogan; B.Silva, Diaz, Sane; Jesus
Head To Head
Man City have won the last two Premier League meetings between the two teams. As mentioned, the last of those occurred just last month as Guardiola's side recorded a 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester did beat Man City 4-2 when they met last December, however, and also ran out 3-1 winners at the Etihad Stadium in February 2016.
It will be the first time that the two teams have locked horns in the League Cup since the same stage of the 2013-14 competition, with Man City winning 3-1 at the King Power Stadium.
We say: Leicester 0-2 Man City
Man City are absolutely flying at the moment, while Leicester will have been wounded by their defeat to Palace. Both managers will make alterations for the quarter-final, but we fancy Man City to continue their incredible domestic form with a fairly routine success.
Matt Law
