Stockport County vs Leicester City

Odds-on favourites to make it to the next EFL Cup round out-of-sorts Leicester City head to Edgeley Park to take on third-tier Stockport County in a must-win clash.

Stockport County eked out a narrow 1-0 win over fellow League Two rivals Harrogate Town in the previous EFL Cup round to set up this tie. However, after earning League Two promotion as National League winners, the hosts have experienced an utterly underwhelming start to the new league season, suffering four defeats in five matches (W1). Interestingly, each of Stockport’s six competitive games won/lost this season has yielded a single-goal margin. While both their victories came by an identical 1-0 scoreline, all four defeats saw them get on the scoresheet, with three of them featuring the same 2-1 score. Scoring first won’t back their hopes of staging an upset, considering they’ve lost half of their four competitive fixtures after breaking the deadlock this season (W2, L2).

In the meantime, it’s been a thoroughly disappointing start to the new Premier League season for underperforming Leicester City, as they’ve yet to pick up a single win from three matches (D1, L2). It’s worth noting that the ‘Foxes’ squandered a 2-0 first-half lead against Brentford on the opening weekend (2-2) and turned a 1-0 second-half advantage into a 2-1 home defeat to Southampton last time out. Head coach Brendan Rodgers starts to feel the heat as he emerges as one of the likeliest Premier League managers to be relieved of his duties early in the season. Therefore, a trip to sub-par opponents could be what the doctor ordered, with Leicester aiming to defy their abysmal seven-match away form across all competitions (W1, D2, L4), last season included.