The League Cup at Leicester

I'm away at the moment and busy. I had back to back until 2am this morning and I had to be up at 7 for my first call. I'm telling you this because it's been like this for a few days and that is why I've not posted. So sorry, but I've taken this afternoon off so I can get to watch the match and I'm here now.

So time for a post just ahead of the match and it's going to be interesting. When we played Leicester earlier this season, they spanked us. And they played us off the park. Tonight has to be different.

If it isn't different, we will go into the second leg looking for a miracle. If it is different, we give ourselves a chance. And I have no doubt there will be effort needed, but we need to approach this game wanting to win and that doesn't just come down to desire, it comes down to how we play.

Not wanting to lose isn't going to give us what we need. Hoping we can take them back to Villa Park and have a chance isn't going to do it. I hope we see what we need to see.

And in other news and sorry again, this time for the short post, but I've got to leave, we have a new player on loan for the season in Danny Drinkwater. I'm not really sure what happened to him after he left Leicester, but while at Leicester he did well. Hopefully he can do the same for us tonight, if he plays.

So on that, I have to run. Time for more Las Vegas.

Match stats from the BBC

  • Leicester and Aston Villa met in the League Cup semi-final the last time the Foxes reached this stage in 1999-00, with Leicester winning 1-0 on aggregate and going on to lift the trophy.
  • Aston Villa have lost their last two away matches against Leicester, in the Premier League during 2015. Their last win at Leicester was in the League Cup in October 2006, a 3-2 victory under Martin O'Neill.
  • Leicester have gone on to reach the final of the League Cup on each of the five occasions they've played at the semi-final stage (1963-64, 1964-65, 1996-97, 1998-99 and 1999-00).
  • This is Aston Villa's 15th League Cup semi-final tie and their first since 2012-13, when they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Bradford City. They've only won the first leg in two of their previous 14 League Cup semi-finals (W2 D7 L5).
  • Brendan Rodgers has progressed from his last 30 domestic cup ties with Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester - the last team to beat Rodgers was Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final in 2014-15, when he was Liverpool manager.
  • Aston Villa have scored 16 goals in the League Cup this season, six more than any other team. They've had two wins by five goals this season (6-1 v Crewe, 5-0 v Liverpool), the first team to achieve that in a single League Cup campaign since Manchester City in 2013-14, who won the tournament.
  • Leicester's James Maddison has scored four goals and assisted five in his last eight League Cup appearances, scoring in each of his three games this season.
  • Aston Villa have won their last four League Cup matches, last winning five in a row in October 1994.