Preview
Pearson's Foxes aim to scavenge an unlikely Capital One Cup semi-final place from Pellegrini's goal machines.
Tuesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final tie between Leicester City and Manchester City is already being shrugged off as a 'given'. With the battered bones of Bayern Munich and the arid ashes of Arsène Wenger's Arsenal decaying in their path, the blues are expected to crush and crumble Pearson's pretenders with similar force in mid-week.
However, 3rd placed Leicester have only suffered one loss at home this season and the King Power stadium has proven to be a foxy fortress for the promotion chasers. Former Portsmouth striker David Nugent has been in slick form for Pearson's men this year, netting ten of his side's impressive 32 goals in the Sky Bet Championship. The former England striker will indubitably be relishing the opportunity to face Premier League defenders once again on Tuesday.
With Manchester City's defence recently bolstered by the return of Vincent Kompany, Nugent's chances of piercing a back-line that are yet to concede in the competition remain agonizingly low. Even more encouragingly for the Chilean chancellor, his side have continued their terrific tradition of firing in goals like bullets in the Capital One Cup and have netted seven goals in their two wins against Wigan Athletic (5-0) and Newcastle United (2-0). However, the absence of Sergio Agüero could restrict the flow of City's gush of goals.
(Sergio Agüero limped off with a calf injury on Saturday)
The Argentine, who netted his 13th goal in 15 games on Saturday, could be out of action for 6 weeks if report submitted by the Daily Mirror is to be believed and former City keeper Kasper Schmeichel will be delighted with the news. The blues have undoubtedly lost a lethal weapon, but six weeks on the sidelines for City's most ferocious attacker provides a perfect opportunity for £25m man Stevan Jovetić. The Montenegrin has entertained injury problems of his own this season which have threatened to tarnish the striker's start to life in Manchester, however, the highly-rated youngster could well fill the gap left by Sergio.
A sold out King Power stadium will roar with the voices of 33,000 hungry foxes on Tuesday night, but Manuel's minions will be aiming to march above an unlikely embarrassment.
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Line-Up
After returning to training in the week, Stevan Jovetić has been declared fit enough to play on Tuesday night. However, Agüero's injury may tempt Pellegrini into fielding star singer John Guidetti whom the City crowd are desperate to see in action.
(John Guidetti could start alongside either Álvaro Negredo, Edin Džeko or Stevan Jovetić on Tuesday)
Micah Richards and Matija Nastasić are still weeks away from fitness and City's defence is likely to follow the rotation policy it has experienced all season with Joleon Lescott and Aleksandar Kolarov set to compete for places.
James Milner, Javi García, Joe Hart and Jesús Navas are all contenders to start in the eleven.
Possible line-ups
Leicester City: Schmeichel, de Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky, Knockaert, Drinkwater, James, Dyer, Nugent, Vardy.
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Lescott, Kolarov, Navas, Garcia, Fernandinho, Milner, Džeko, Jovetić.
Key Players
David Nugent
The striker has been in impressive form for the Foxes this season, netting 10 goals in 20 games for the club. He has international and Premier League experience and will be relishing the opportunity to prove his credentials against top flight defenders once again on Tuesday.
Jesús Navas
The Spaniard is set to have a field day down the right hand side and will be looking to torment former Manchester United defender Ritchie de Laet. Navas has steadily grown into his role at Manchester City and is beginning to show the class Manuel Pellegrini brought him in for.
Stats
- The last time the two sides met was in 2011 when a replay was needed for Manchester City to put Leicester out of the FA Cup. An incredible strike from Carlos Tevez sent City on their way to a 4-2 win in a competition they ended up winning.
- The last time Leicester City beat Manchester City was in November 2000. They won 1-0
- Leicester City and Manchester City are the competitions second highest scorers with 7 goals each
- Leicester City have beaten Manchester City at home since March 1988
