FA Cup 4th round: Foxes to snap up bragging rights

A resounding “ooh” will have been uttered across the East Midlands and further afield when Nottingham Forest and Leicester City were drawn against each other in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

A long-awaited East Midlands derby between these sides looks to be just the ticket for a cold Sunday in early February and one that has the potential to get spectators at the City Ground off their seats.

Forest form offers hope

There is no doubting Nottingham Forest have made significant progress since manager Steve Cooper took the reins at the City Ground. The Welshman almost took Swansea City up to the Premier League last season and now he looks to be working wonders in his new role with the Reds.

Forest went on a winning run of four games, including a 1-0 FA Cup win over Arsenal, before a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City last time out.

The result meant Cooper’s men missed out on the chance to climb into the Championship playoff places, but the Reds are still very much in the battle for promotion.

While a derby clash with Leicester will be another good test for Forest, one wonders if the match is a distraction the Reds could do without in the midst of a promotion push.

Forest are 3.7 in our market to win in the 90 minutes against the Foxes, but it’s hard to see the hosts pulling off another shock as they did against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Rodgers' Leicester breezed past Watford in the third round

Foxes have depth to cause Forest problems

Having won the FA Cup last year for the first time in their history, Leicester will be determined to put up a strong title defence this season.

Manager Brendan Rodgers might well be tempted to tinker with his team selection, especially with a trip to his former club Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday night.

Leicester, who are 6% in our market to retain the FA Cup this season, looked impressive in their 4-1 win over Watford in the third round of the competition this term.

Rodgers put out a mixture of first-team regulars and fringe players in that game at the King Power and is likely to use the same formula this weekend.

Ayoze Perez is in line for another start in the cup, while Adamola Lookman could be given another opportunity to impress in attack.

Leicester have been somewhat vulnerable at the back, having only kept two clean sheets in their last 23 games in all competitions.

Both teams to score is available at 1.76 in a game that Leicester look well priced to win at 2.1 on their relatively short trip across the Midlands.

It has been eight years since the last time these two teams went head to head and Sunday’s 105th meeting between the sides has the making for an end-to-end thriller.

Recommended bet

Leicester to win @ 2.1

Both teams to score @ 1.76