On Sunday, at 16:30, Leicester moves to Newport County for a match in Round 3 of the English Cup. Claude Puel’s “Foxes” come after an excellent season in the championship, where they scored 9 points out of 12 possible during the Christmas season, the only syncope being the failure against Cardiff City (0-1, naked in extra time) on their own.
The Newport match will take place in Wales on a stadium that the hosts are very hard to defeat. England’s specialists consider the Newport lawn to be one of the toughest in the country, and Leicester’s reserves will not have an easy task in round 3. Black and White motivation will be maximum, especially given Newport’s season track record past of the English Cup. The fourth league team, now coached by Flynn Michael (ranked 12th in the standings), came to play against Wembley against Tottenham!
Last season, Newport shocked the United Kingdom with a victory over Leeds United, which was two divisions over the Welsh (2-1). After qualifying in the 3rd round of the competition (for the second time in 30 years), Newport drew Tottenham on his own ground and forced the retreat to London, the biggest stadium in the country, where Spurs eventually imposed. It was not a comfortable “double” for Pochettino’s team, who underestimated his opponent in the first hand. Such a mistake by Leicester could be fatal.
At this point, Newport has a series of 5 consecutive matches without a home defeat but will encounter a solid defensive that has not received a goal in 5 of the last 9 runs made. Without a number of basic players, however, white-blues will have to unleash a strong defensive, which will overcame the goal in the attack phase of the guests. Leicester has qualified from round 3 of the competition every time for the past two years and will not accept a humiliation on Newport Stadium. Even though Newport scored in 13 of the last 16 home games, we are expecting a tight duel, where the hosts could keep up for at least a half.
Leicester comes after a big win at Everton (Vardy goal), but Claude Puel has already announced that a good number of players will get a break in this match with Newport. The hosts did not beat anyone in 4 matches and come after a 2-3 at Lincoln, a 1-4 with Forest Green, 0-0 on their own against Crawley and a 0-1 at Stevenage. Black and White hope for a draw on Sunday and will cling to teeth at any stage, trying to limit the fox offensive.
PREDICTION: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.45
