Liverpool saw their 2017-18 EFL Cup campaign come to an end at the first hurdle this evening as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in their third-round clash at the King Power Stadium.
The eight-time champions dominated proceedings in the first half without finding a breakthrough, and Jurgen Klopp's decision to withdraw Philippe Coutinho at half time saw that control diminish.
Another substitution also had a telling impact on the game as Shinji Okazaki came off the bench to open the scoring, before Islam Slimani sealed the hosts' progress with a stunning second.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Neither of these two sides come into this match in particularly good form having each gone three games without a win, but both are expected to field vastly different XIs to their most recent Premier League outing and tonight will be a chance for some of the fringe players to shine.
On that note, let's take a look at the team news for tonight's game...
Well, the headline news as far as the hosts are concerned is that Jamie Vardy misses out having picked up a groin injury during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Huddersfield. Vardy - who has scored five of the six goals Leicester have ever scored against Liverpool in the Premier League - was always a major doubt for this match after sustaining that problem, and as expected Craig Shakespeare has opted against risking his main striker this evening.
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Those changes start in goal, but there is no debut for summer signing Eldin Jakupovic as Ben Hamer gets the nod in between the sticks. Schmeichel is given the night off entirely, while in the back four captain Wes Morgan and Ben Chilwell are the only ones to keep their places.
Further forward there is another debut too as Vicente Iborra makes his first Leicester appearance in a competitive game since his summer move from Sevilla, and a decent performance for him tonight could be enough to fastrack himself into the Premier League side - where he is expected to end up anyway.
Tonight is a real chance to show what he can do alongside the likes of Slimani and Ulloa, who lead the line.
Of those, the headline is another start for Philippe Coutinho, who failed to make the difference on Saturday in what was his first club start of the season. The Brazilian was, of course, embroiled in a long-running transfer saga during the summer and has since admitted that he wanted to leave Liverpool, but he has also said that he is fully committed to the Reds having been made to stay against his own will.
With plenty of young and unfamiliar players around him, Coutinho could be the key to making something happen for Liverpool tonight.
The lineup suggests that he will be playing as part of the front three - and so not in the central midfield three which is understood to be his favoured position - but wherever he is playing, this is his first real shot and crowbarring his way into the starting XI on a regular basis.
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It is all change in midfield for the Reds as captain Jordan Henderson returns alongside Georginio Wijnaldum after both sat out the draw with Burnley in midweek. Marko Grujic joins them in the three-man midfield, with Milner, Can and Salah all dropping out.
In front of him will be the unfamiliar quartet of Robertson, Klavan, Gomez and Flanagan, the latter of whom is making his first Liverpool appearance since May 2016.
Leicester have spent plenty of money since their incredible title success a couple of seasons ago, but that has failed to help them stay amongst the top half in the Premier League so far and Craig Shakespeare's side have made another slow start to the current campaign with only four points from their opening five games.
Only goal difference is keeping Leicester out of the relegation zone as things stand, thanks largely to a three-match winless streak since beating Sheffield United in the last round of this competition. Leicester have picked up just one point from the nine available to them in that time, with that point coming in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.
Indeed, of the teams outside the current top three in the table only Liverpool have scored more goals than Leicester this season, but it is at the other end of the table where their problems have come, conceding nine times in their five outings so far - only West Ham and Everton have a worse record.
Defeat in this evening's game would condemn Leicester to consecutive losses in front of their own fans for the first time under Shakespeare and the first time as a club since February, when they were beaten here by Chelsea and Manchester United.
Chelsea were the last team to beat them here too, running out 2-1 winners 10 days ago, so that may not be a good omen for the Foxes tonight.
That is an average of 5.3 goals per game against top-flight sides in this competition, with Leicester scoring 15 and conceding 22 of those.
Of course, neither the attack nor the defence is at full strength for the visitors tonight, but Klopp's style is still likely to see chances created at both ends and, considering no team has seen more goals in their Premier League games than Liverpool this season, the changes may not limit the goalscoring in this one.
Manchester United and Manchester City have both seen 18 goals go in in their opening five league games too, but the difference is that they have both scored 16 and conceded two - a long way from Liverpool's evenly-shared goal difference.
This past week has been particularly damaging for Liverpool's ambitions, with their 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City being following up by home draws against Sevilla and Burnley. The loss to City is one Liverpool had to take on the chin following Mane's controversial red card, but the two draws since have been entirely avoidable.
On the bright side, though, Liverpool did still manage to pick up points in those past two games, and including the end of last term they have now lost just one of their last 12 outings across all competitions.
After the double-header against the Foxes, Liverpool then face a difficult trip to Russia to face Spartak Moscow in the Champions League before returning home and taking on Newcastle United in the Premier League. Then, finally, they will be back at Anfield for the October 14 showdown against arch rivals Manchester United.
However, Liverpool have only managed to win one of their last five EFL Cup games against Premier League opposition, including losing both legs of their semi-final against Southampton last season.
These matches are always difficult to call when a lot of the fringe players are on show, but Klopp's rotation at the weekend too means that they are still able to call upon the likes of Coutinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum. That added quality in midfield could make the difference tonight, and we're going for a narrow away victory as a result.
Sports Mole says: Leicester 1-2 Liverpool
The most recent of those came in February when Vardy scored either side of a Drinkwater strike to help Leicester to a 3-1 victory, with Liverpool only managing a Coutinho goal in reply.
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These two sides have only ever met once in this competition, with Liverpool coming out on top en route to the final in 1987 courtesy of a 4-1 victory in the third round.
LEICESTER STARTING XI: Hamer; Amartey, Dragović, Morgan, Chilwell; Albrighton, Iborra, Ndidi, Gray; Slimani, Ulloa
LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Ward; Flanagan, Gomez, Klavan, Robertson; Henderson, Grujic, Wijnaldum; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coutinho, Solanke
Not used watching from home. Behind the telly tonight, always behind the team! 👏🏻🔴 #LFC #YoullNeverWatchAlone pic.twitter.com/eEzs3ZE4Bu
— Simon Mignolet (@SMignolet) September 19, 2017
Liverpool have been dominant in this game, with 13 shots in the opening 45 minutes and 74% possession to boot. However, the only stat that counts is the scoreline and Liverpool have once again failed to make the breakthrough so far tonight.
Indeed, for all of Liverpool's dominance so far tonight, all of Hamer's saves have been fairly routine.
Ben Woodburn, who made headlines for Wales during the international break, comes on in place of Coutinho, who pulled the strings in that first half.
Liverpool deal well with the initial delivery into their box this time, but it is hoisted straight back in and Morgan keeps it alive. His header finds Iborra, who in turn nods it down to Okazaki to scuff his finish into the bottom corner. It looks as though the final touch came off Robertson, which left ward little chance as the ball bobbled into the corner.
Okazaki is again involved as he nudges the ball into the path of the club-record signing, who drives past Grujic knowing that the Liverpool midfielder can't touch him as he is already on a yellow card. Slimani continues on his way and then unleashes an unstoppable effort into the top corner. Stunning strike.
It was the cliched game of two halves this evening, with Liverpool dominating the first without making it count before Leicester hit back in the second. The match hinged on two substitutions; Liverpool's control waned when Coutinho was taken off at half time and Okazaki's enforced introduction breathed new life into Leicester.
Okazaki went on to score the opening and played a part in the second goal too, which Slimani blasted into the top corner.
I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to check back in tomorrow night for more EFL Cup action - including the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and the Manchester clubs in action.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!