Leicester City vs Newport County

King Power Stadium is the venue as Leicester City and Newport Country meet in what should be another day in the office for the Premier League strugglers.

Leicester City pulled off a massive upset at the weekend, claiming a 2-0 win at Everton to register their third victory in four Premier League matches (L1). Scoring first could prove of paramount importance for Leicester’s bid to make it out of this EFL Cup round, given that each of their last five league outings has seen one or both sides fail to get on the scoresheet. But Brendan Rodgers’ men have blown hot and cold across their five previous home fixtures (W2, D1, L2), with each game won/lost in that sequence seeing the winner keep a clean sheet. Coming into this encounter as odds-on favourites to move past Newport, the ‘Foxes’ will feel confident about overcoming a poor patch at home that’s seen them draw a blank in three of their last five home games.

On the other hand, fourth-tier Newport County eased past fellow League Two rivals Colchester 2-0 in the FA Cup at the weekend, extending their stellar unbeaten run in all competitions to five games (W3, D2). Low scoring has been a common theme in their last four matches, all of which contained under 2.5 total goals. Playing on the road doesn’t favour Newport, as they’ve won none of their four previous away matches (D2, L2), frustratingly scoring one goal or fewer on each occasion. But after conceding under 1.5 goals in seven of their last eight competitive fixtures on hostile turf, the ‘Ironsides’ should feel comfortable about their bid to keep this tie competitive at the very least.