Leicester City will welcome Manchester City to the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
The two teams also met at the same stage of last season's competition, and it was Man City that won 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the home of the Foxes.
Leicester
© ReutersSaturday's 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace means that Leicester have only won one of their last four matches in all competitions, and back-to-back Premier League losses has seen them drop into the bottom half of the table.
It has been a season of inconsistency thus far, with six wins, four draws and seven defeats from their 17 Premier League matches. They are once again present in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, but have needed penalties in the last two rounds to progress to this stage of the competition.
Indeed, a 4-0 win over Fleetwood Town was followed by back-to-back goalless draws against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton, but the Foxes managed to win both penalty shootouts to progress.
As mentioned above, they are locking horns with Man City at this stage of the EFL Cup for the second successive season, and Pep Guardiola's side needed a 4-3 penalty-shootout success to advance last term.
Leicester are actually three-time winners of the League Cup, with their last success occurring back in 2000. It will take some effort to land the trophy this season, however, when considering that they must face Man City, and then potentially Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea in the semi-finals.
Goals have been hard to find in recent weeks, with Claude Puel's side managing just one in their last three Premier League matches. Jamie Vardy is now back in the fold following injury though, and Harry Maguire's return to fitness down the other end is also big news for the Foxes.
Leicester will actually face Man City twice in the space of eight days when considering that they host the Citizens in the Premier League on Boxing Day. Puel's team will also travel to Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend as the big matches come thick and fast at this stage of the campaign.
Recent form: WWLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWDLL
Man City
© ReutersThe 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on December 8 would have hurt Man City, but they have bounced back by beating Hoffenheim and Everton in their last two matches on home soil.
It seems incredible that Man City have won 14 and lost just one of their 17 Premier League matches this season but do not top the table; that is the case though due to Liverpool's exceptional form.
Guardiola's side are going well across the board, however, having secured their spot in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, while they are only one point off the top of the table. Man City won their fifth League Cup last season by beating Arsenal in the final, and will be looking to triumph in the competition once again.
Unlike Leicester, the Citizens have only had to win two matches to reach the quarter-finals of this season's tournament, and they did not need to break a sweat in their victories over Oxford United and Fulham.
The quarter-finals is a strong lineup when considering that Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea are all present, but Guardiola will not be taking the EFL Cup lightly as it does provide the opportunity to win a trophy before the business end of the campaign.
Not since a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United back in October 2016 have Man City lost in the League Cup, and they have conceded just three times in their last five matches in the competition.
It will be a busy end to the year for Guardiola's team when considering that they take on Leicester twice, Crystal Palace and Southampton before the end of 2018. The new year will get off to a bang, meanwhile, as they host title rivals Liverpool on January 3.
Recent form: WWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWLWW
Team News
© ReutersLeicester will once again be without England international Ben Chilwell, who has not been able to shake off a knee injury in time for this match.
Vardy and Maguire should also keep their spots having featured against Palace at the weekend, but Danny Ward, Danny Simpson and Vicente Iborra are among those that could come into the side.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Shinji Okazaki, meanwhile, will both be pushing for positions in Puel's XI, but Jonny Evans is suspended.
As for Man City, Guardiola has already confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne will start. The midfielder has struggled with knee ligament injuries this season, but will be in the XI on Tuesday night.
Arijanet Muric is expected to start between the sticks, while the likes of John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Vincent Kompany and Phil Foden should come into the team.
Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane could be the front three for the visitors.
Leicester possible starting lineup:
Ward; Simpson, Maguire, Morgan, Fuchs; Iborra, Ndidi; Albrighton, Iheanacho, Gray; Vardy
Man City possible starting lineup:
Muric; Walker, Stones, Kompany, Zinchenko; Foden, Delph, De Bruyne; Sterling, Jesus, Sane
Head To Head
As mentioned, the pair met at the same stage of last season's EFL Cup, and Man City won on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium.
The Citizens recorded a 5-1 win when the pair met in the Premier League back in February, and Leicester have not actually beaten Man City since a 4-2 home success in the Premier League two years ago.
In all, Man City have won 57 of their 115 matches with Leicester, losing 29 times.
We say: Leicester 1-2 Man City (AET)
Guardiola will make changes from Saturday's 3-1 win over Everton, but the Premier League champions should still have enough to edge past Leicester on Tuesday night.
