Nottingham Forest welcome the Foxes, Leicester City, to the City Ground in the fourth round of The FA Cup on Sunday, kicking off at 4 PM (GMT).
Leicester reached this point in the competition by smashing Watford 4-1 at the King Power Stadium, with goals from Youri Tielemans, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton wrapping up a comfortable victory for Brendan Rodgers' side, and knocking a Premier League rival out of the competition in the process.
However, despite Nottingham Forest languishing eighth in the Championship, the Forest have proven themselves giant-killers in the FA Cup, defeating Arsenal 1-0 at home. The performance from the Forest team was impressive, devoiding the Gunners of any ideas before grabbing a goal themselves to gain them entry into the next round.
Team News...
Rodgers is faced with a more positive selection headache ahead of this match, after being virtually forced to select a side that only consisted of fit and available players in the opening month of 2022, regardless of where his players preferred to play on the pitch.
Wilfried Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho are back from AFCON where they represented Nigeria, providing extra reinforcements for Leicester in their attempt to defend their FA Cup title. However, the defence still picks itself, despite Ricardo Pereira returning to training after his injury in Leicester's EFL Cup tie against Liverpool.
There is an option for Leicester to play in a back five on Sunday, with perhaps Wilfried Ndidi dropping into the defence, leaving Tielemans and Maddison in a midfield pair, therefore allowing Luke Thomas and James Justin freedom to bomb forward and penetrate the Forest defence. However, it does seem quite a negative set-up in a match that the Foxes are favourites.
Ndidi's return also makes a diamond formation possible. His defensive qualities give the Nigerian the ability to shield the backline in his role as the central-defensive midfielder. This gives Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall license to go wherever they please on the pitch, whether that's pressing or becoming a threat in the opposition box which will be key in Leicester either winning this game or losing it.
It won't be as easy for Iheanacho to get into the side, however, as the forward line has now become stacked with attacking talent. Patson Daka has been electric for the Foxes lately, scoring in the last three times he's started, and Ademola Lookman has found a flicker of form as well, being the difference maker in their 1-0 Premier League win over Liverpool. Don't be surprised to see Iheanacho miss this one out.
Additionally, for Foxes fans, they'll be glad to know that Forest's hero against Arsenal, Lewis Grabban, will miss the game due to picking up an injury in the Forest's Championship loss against Cardiff City where he had to be helped off of the pitch and his foot placed in a boot. Everyone will be wishing him a speedy recovery, but no doubt it is a boost for Leicester.
Rodgers Has His Say...
In his pre-match press conference, Brendan Rodgers discussed his experiences with derby days as he prepares for his trip to Nottingham Forest. Here's what he had to say on the matter.
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"At the other clubs, I have been at there have been massive derby games so once this [game] came up I was really looking forward to it...
"I know it has been a while since both clubs have played, I have not been back at the City Ground since I was there with Swansea at the playoff semi-final so it's been a long time.
"It will be a tough game for us because they [Nottingham Forest] have done very very well. Steve [Cooper] has gone in there and done a brilliant job along with Alan Tate, who was a player for me at Swansea City, so it is going to be a tough examination for us" Rodgers added.
Predicted Starting XIs:
Leicester City: Kasper Schmeichel, James Justin, Daniel Amartey, Çağlar Söyüncü, Luke Thomas, Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, James Maddison, Patson Daka, Ademola Lookman.
Nottingham Forest: Brice Samba, Loïc Mbe Soh, Scott McKenna, Jonathan Panzo, Djed Spence, Ryan Yates, James Garner, Max Lowe, Brennan Johnson, Philip Zinckernagel, Keinan Davis.
Players to Watch:
Patson Daka
Daka has become quite the talisman for Leicester since the recent injury to Jamie Vardy, with the Zambian International scoring nine goals in eighteen appearances over the course of the season- including a quadruple against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League back in October. The young player is seen as the future and it's hard to deny considering the form he's on.
Brennan Johnson
The young Welsh International has simply been a shining star in this Nottingham Forest side, attracting interest from multiple Premier League clubs across the country in the process. His pace and quick feet can certainly cause problems for Leicester's defence, and a solid performance from him will definitely put him in the shop window for a move in the summer.
How to Watch
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City kicks off at 16:00 (GMT) and will be shown live on BBC Sport this Sunday.