Leicester City begin their FA Cup campaign with a first-round tie away to Oxford City on Friday. The match at The MGroup Stadium sees the League One side enter the competition against National League opposition.
Leicester sit 10th in League One with 19 points from 13 games, a record of five wins, four draws, and four losses. Their recent form has been mixed, with three wins, a draw, and a loss in their last five outings. That run includes a 2-2 home draw with Stevenage last Saturday, where Braybrooke and K. Doyle found the net. The team's overall goal difference this season stands at plus three, having scored 22 and conceded 19. In the league title race, they currently find themselves nine points behind leaders Huddersfield.
Recent form
Emil Riis, the club's top scorer with six goals this season in nine appearances, netted a brace in the 3-0 win over Wigan last week. The Foxes will look to him for a cutting edge as they aim to avoid a cup upset. The recent sequence of results, which began with a 1-3 loss to Peterborough on 10 October, also includes a 4-0 win at Bromley, a 2-1 loss at Luton, and the victory over Wigan before the Stevenage draw.
Team news
The side that drew with Stevenage featured A. McCarthy in goal, with a back four of W. O'Hora, H. Souttar, C. Okoli, and L. Thomas. The midfield trio was J. Lundstram, W. Alves, and S. Braybrooke, supporting forwards L. Page, K. Doyle, and E. Riis. This lineup provides a likely template for the cup tie.
With no further team news available, the focus turns to progressing in a competition that offers a welcome distraction from league duties. After the cup fixture, attention shifts back to League One and a home game against seventh-placed Bradford on 14 November.
