Leicester get their Carabao Cup semi-final underway against Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium in an all Midlands derby.
Leicester are looking to gain a sizeable lead to take into the second leg as they look to make their first Cup return to Wembley since winning this competition in February 2000.
Villa however will be keen to bounce back from their shock FA Cup exit on Saturday at Fulham, knowing that a win here could be crucial to their Cup hopes heading into their home leg later this month.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesJamie Vardy could return for Leicester after missing their last two matches with a tight hamstring, having initially skipped their festive trip to West Ham for personal reasons prior to the hamstring injury flaring up.
Wes Morgan (groin) and Filip Benkovic (knee) are both ruled out of this fixture, alongside Daniel Amartey who has a knock to his ankle.
Matty James (calf) meanwhile remains a long-term absentee.
Aston Villa have no fresh injury concerns to report from Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at Fulham.
Keinan Davis (thigh) is unavailable as he continues to build up his match fitness, whilst Jed Steer (Achilles) remains sidelined until late February.
Tom Heaton and Wesley are out for the remainder of this season with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, whilst Matt Targett (hamstring) and John McGinn (ankle) are ruled out indefinitely.
Stat Attack
- Leicester are unbeaten in four of seven previous League Cup meetings against Aston Villa (W2, D2, L3).
- Both teams have met at this stage of the League Cup before, with Leicester progressing to the Final with a 1-0 aggregate win in 1999-2000 season.
- Leicester have lost just one home League Cup clash against Villa (W1, D1, L1).
- Conor Hourihane has scored four goals in three of his four League Cup appearances for Villa this season.
- Seven of Leicester’s ten League Cup goals so far this season have come in the first half.
Prediction
Both teams rested players at the weekend so I am expecting a good battle between two strong first choice teams, although Villa seem to have saved their best for this cup competition so far this season despite Dean Smith’s rotation.
They therefore need to deliver here because if Leicester can secure a two goal margin lead on home turf, I don’t think Villa will be able to come back in the second leg given the quality amongst the Foxes.
The first-half however will be key because if Leicester run riot then this tie is done and dusted, whereas Villa will give themselves a great chance going into the second-half if can keep things respectable which is a tough ask given that key players are out injured.
Prediction: Leicester 2-0 Aston Villa
Result: Leicester 1-1 Aston Villa
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