Milton Keynes Dons-Leicester is a League Cup fourth round match played on Tuesday at 20:45: stats, line-ups and predictions.
The Premier League will have to wait until the traditional Boxing Day: the English top league, after the long break from the Qatari World Cup, will resume on Boxing Day. Before that, however, there is the ‘starter’ of the League Cup, ready to kick off this week with the fourth round (or round of 16, if you like) matches.
Several Premier League teams will also be on the pitch, including the highly anticipated clash between reigning English champions Manchester City and trophy holders Liverpool. Leicester will have an easier task on paper as they attempt to qualify at home to the Milton Keynes Dons, who play in League One. For Brendan Rodgers’ men, the cup can represent a way to ‘save’ a complicated season, which began in a way that could well be defined as disastrous, given the standards to which the Foxes had accustomed us in recent years. Leicester, having overcome the turbulent period, recovered from October. And before the stop it had closed with an important double success against Everton and West Ham, both beaten away.
They will start again from thirteenth place, far from the relegation zone but also from Europe, which – barring sensational comebacks – now seems unreachable. For this match Rodgers could recover all seven national players, from Tielemans to Amartey, passing through Castagne, Maddison, Mendy, Faes and Ward.
Milton Keynes, on the other hand, never stopped, as the English minor leagues went on without a hitch. On Saturday Dean Lewington’s side – who took over from Liam Manning a week ago – returned to winning a game after almost two months, beating Portsmouth 2-0 at home. The league table, however, continues to be a cause for concern: the Dons are momentarily third-last and in the middle of the relegation zone.
The Prediction
Leicester haven’t played a game since 12 November and may pay for their less athletic freshness compared to Milton Keynes. The Foxes are still favourites to qualify but are likely to concede at least one goal.
The likely Milton Keynes Dons-Leicester line-up
- MILTON KEYNES DONS (3-4-3): Cumming; Tucker, O’Hora, Jules; Watson, Johnson, Robson, Lawrence; Burns, Eisa, Grant.
- LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Iversen; Amartey, Evans, Faes, Thomas; Soumaré, Ndidi; Perez, Albrighton, Barnes; Vardy.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
