Championship side Stoke City will welcome Premier League side Leicester City to the Bet 365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the sides look for cup glory. 

Stoke City come into this game after losing narrowly to Bournemouth moving them down to eighth place in the second division. Meanwhile, the Foxes got 2021 off to a positive start, beating Newcastle United by two goals to one thanks to strikes from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans. Changes could be expected for this game as Brendan Rodgers may want to focus more on the League and UEFA Europa League

Here is how we expect both sides to line-up for the clash at the Bet 365 Stadium: 

Stoke City

Stoke City will be looking to shock high-flying Leicester City and they will know that teams have before. The Championship side will look to go far in the competition but it won’t be easy for them facing the Foxes in the third round. 

Key striker Tyrese Campbell, remains out for the home side through injury.

Michael O'Neill's side will also be without other striker Steven Fletcher. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday man is suffering with a groin injury after he fell awkwardly in their side's loss to Bournemouth. 

Another Stoke player who also remains out for the FA Cup battle is Lee Gregory, who’s out with a groin injury. 

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn and Adam Davies will be sidelined, while left-back Morgan Fox has been struggling with a hamstring problem. 

Starting XI: Bursik; Collins, Souttar, Chester; Smith, Allen, Mikel, Power, McClean; Brown, Vokes. 

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Leicester City

With a UEFA Europa League last-32 tie against Slavia Prague to come next month, the Foxes are competing for silverware on three fronts for the remainder of the season. Leicester will see this as another chance to get their hands on a trophy this season but for this game Rodgers will make changes, hoping his side will still be able to progress in the domestic competition and he can rest players for the league. 

James Maddison is carrying a knee injury, while Jamie Vardy is having issues with his hip so have both missed training and will miss Saturday’s Cup game. Long-term absentee Ricardo Pereira is in contention for the game. 

The likes of Dennis Praet, Kelechi Iheanacho and Ayoze Perez are expected to be recalled for the fixture.

Starting XI: Ward; Fuchs, Soyuncu, Amartey; Albrighton, Mendy, Praet, Tielemans,Thomas; Perez; Iheanacho. 

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Prediction

Both sets of sides will want to go far in this competition and lift major silverware this season. Stoke will be looking to cause a shock result against an in-form Leicester City side whilst the Foxes will be looking to deny that. 

Leicester’s second side should be able to beat Stoke this Saturday

1-2 Leicester. 

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