FA Cup | Third Round

Jan 11, 2025 at 2pm UK

King Power Stadium

Leicester vs QPR

Match preview

A home game against a lower-division team seems like just what Leicester need right now. They've been brought back down to earth after the new manager bounce under Van Nistelrooy quickly faded.

Since bagging their last Premier League point against Brighton & Hove Albion at the start of December, Saturday's hosts have been thrashed in each of their last five top-flight matches and are the only side in the division without a single point from the last 15 on offer.

Van Nistelrooy's team did give Champions League contenders Aston Villa a good run for their money on matchday 20, but strikes from Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey either side of a Stephy Mavididi leveller sent Leicester back to the King Power empty-handed from a 2-1 defeat.

The Foxes are currently in 19th place in the Premier League, just two points ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th. While they might not be focusing on the FA Cup just yet, they've got bigger fish to fry. But we all know they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the early stages of the competition.

The Foxes haven't been eliminated in the third round since 2018-19, and they've only lost 18 FA Cup matches since 2017-18. Only Manchester City (31), Chelsea (26) and Manchester United (25) have had more wins in that time.

But the 2020-21 FA Cup winners have a much better record than QPR, who have lost an unbelievable 51 third-round matches since the current format was introduced in 1925 - more than any other team.

In fact, eight of their last 11 FA Cup runs ended at this stage, including in each of the last two campaigns against Bournemouth and Fleetwood Town. The Championship team still haven't won a tournament trophy.

Marti Cifuentes's men should also be focusing on league matters over knockout fortunes, but their recent form suggests an FA Cup surprise. The visitors just edged out recently-relegated Luton Town 2-1 in their most recent Championship contest and are now 13th in the standings, mathematically closer to the playoff spots than the relegation places.

After not winning any of their 13 matches from 14 September to 23 November, the QPR fans decided to stick with Cifuentes rather than twist and are now reaping the rewards; the Hoops have now won six of their last 10 Championship matches, although they have also conceded in each of their last six.

QPR's last visit to the King Power also ended in an unexpected win - they stunned Enzo Maresca's team 2-1 in a March 2024 Championship clash - but Leicester had won four of their previous five battles, including a 5-1 Premier League trouncing in May 2015 before the Hoops bid farewell to the top flight.

Recent Performance

Leicester City form (all competitions):DLLLLL

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):DWLDWW

Team News

Leicester didn't exactly come out of their trip to Villa Park unscathed. Centre-back Jannik Vestergaard limped off just past the hour mark, and he's not guaranteed to play in the cup clash.

Van Nistelrooy is definitely missing Wilfred Ndidi (thigh), Ricardo Pereira (thigh), Mads Hermansen (groin) and Abdul Fatawu (knee) for the weekend, but Victor Kristiansen (illness) and Kasey McAteer (unspecified) might still play.

Both players should be in with a shot at promotion to the first XI if they're passed fit, and the same goes for Bobby Decordova-Reid, who scored his first FA Cup goal against QPR while at Fulham in 2021.

QPR were dealt a blow in Monday's win over Luton, where Paul Smyth was subbed off in the 61st minute with an unspecified issue, but it doesn't seem to be anything serious.

Zan Celar (hamstring), Karamoko Dembele (knock), Steve Cook and Liam Morrison remain out too, but Cifuentes's squad is otherwise in good nick for the trip to Leicester.

With a week to wait before Saturday's game and a trip to Plymouth Argyle, the Hoops boss can afford to go strong, although Koki Saito will deputise for Smyth on the wing if need be.

Possible starting lineup

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Skipp, Soumare; Decordova-Reid, Buonanotte, Mavididi; Daka

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Walsh; Ashby, Dunne, Fox, Paal; Field, Varane; Saito, Morgan, Chair; Frey