League One Burton Albion may be fearful of another EFL Cup mauling when they welcome in-form neighbours Leicester City to the Pirelli Stadium in the last 16 on Tuesday night.
Nigel Clough's side were beaten 9-0 by Manchester City in the semi-finals of the competition last season and take on a Leicester side that set records tumbling with victory by the same scoreline in the Premier League on Friday night.
Match preview
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Never before in the 131-year history of the English Football League had an away team won so convincingly as Leicester did at Southampton on Friday night, ruthlessly punishing an early Saints red card to run riot on the south coast.
The 9-0 evisceration left statisticians reaching for the record books as the Foxes equalled the biggest-ever Premier League win, became only the second team in the competition to establish a 5-0 lead in the first half of an away game and also became only the second team to have two players score a hat-trick in the same Premier League match.
Brendan Rodgers's side have now scored a whopping 21 goals in their last five outings across all competitions, including a 4-0 drubbing of Championship outfit Luton Town in the last round of the EFL Cup.
Such figures are sure to remind Burton of coming up against a free-scoring Manchester City in this competition last season, and the similarities between the champions and Leicester's recent form is perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay to the Foxes.
Only Man City have scored more goals than Leicester in the Premier League this season, while no team have conceded fewer, a recipe for success which has helped them to climb up to third in the table, only two points behind Pep Guardiola's side.
Of course, however rampant they have been of late Leicester still have some way to go if they are to strike the same level of fear into opponents as Man City do, but they certainly look capable of pushing for a top-four spot this season and that alone gives an idea of the size of Burton's task on Tuesday night.
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The Brewers enjoyed an unforgettable run to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup last season, claiming the scalps of Shrewsbury Town, Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough before running into eventual winners Man City.
Even the 10-0 aggregate pummeling they received at the hands of the English champions could not overshadow the achievement of getting there, though, and something similarly special could be brewing this season following an impressive win over Bournemouth in the last round.
Coupled with victories over Port Vale and Morecambe in rounds one and two respectively, Burton have now won eight of their last 11 matches in this competition, including five of their last six at home as they prepare to welcome their near neighbours on Tuesday.
It is also important to note that Man City only managed a 1-0 triumph at the Pirelli Stadium in the semi-finals last season, with the bulk of the damage being done in the first leg at the Etihad.
There are reasons to be optimistic of another famous upset, then, but there is no doubt that Burton will be huge underdogs, sitting as they do 13th in the League One table following Saturday's goalless draw with Blackpool.
Burton EFL Cup form: WWW
Burton form (all competitions): WLWLWD
Leicester EFL Cup form: WW
Leicester form (all competitions): WWWLWW
Team News
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Leicester have no new injury concerns following their free-scoring exploits in Southampton, meaning that the biggest question for Rodgers regards the extent of his rotation.
Considering the opposition, hat-trick heroes Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy could be rested along with the likes of James Maddison, Kasper Schmeichel and Youri Tielemans.
Fringe players such as Demarai Gray, Dennis Praet and Kelechi Iheanacho will be hopeful of a run-out, while James Justin could start again after scoring against his former club in the last round.
Burton, meanwhile, have been boosted by a host of returning players after injury to make their 0-0 draw against Blackpool more pleasing that the scoreline might seem on first glance.
Stephen Quinn, John Brayford and Oliver Sarkic all came back into the starting lineup for that match, while David Templeton came off the bench and Jake Buxton was also amongst the subs.
Burton possible starting lineup:
O'Hara; Akins, O'Toole, Nartey, Hutchinson; Wallace, Fraser, Edwards; Sarkic, Broadhead, Boyce
Leicester possible starting lineup:
Ward; Justin, Morgan, Evans, Fuchs; Choudhury, Amartey; Gray, Praet, Albrighton; Iheanacho
We say: Burton 0-3 Leicester
Another Leicester goal-show is unlikely given the number of changes expected, but the Foxes should still have enough to avoid being brought back down to earth with a bump. Burton have a habit of upsetting the odds, but this is a Leicester side in flying form and they should cruise through to the quarter-finals with minimum fuss.
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