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The only competition where Leicester have managed to find a victory in the past month, the Foxes travel to London and the Den to face League One side Millwall in the FA Cup Fifth Round.
The winner earns a spot in the quarter-finals, where the Foxes haven’t been since 1981-82. This is the third time in the last 16 seasons that Leicester have gotten this far in the competition.
Millwall have already claimed the cup lives of two Premier League clubs in Bournemouth and Watford at the Den this FA Cup campaign and aim for a third with the Champions of England. It’s probably the most comfortable they’ve felt so far, as Leicester aren’t exactly the most confident team out there right now after another demoralizing defeat in the league to Swansea last Sunday.
While the Foxes fight for their lives in the Premier League, Millwall currently occupy a playoff place in League One and are putting together a decent season thanks to double-digit goals from Steve Morison (13, two in FA Cup), Aiden O’Brien (12, one in FA Cup) and Lee Gregory (11). Leicester, meanwhile, haven’t got a goal out of Jamie Vardy (or even a shot) since December 17 and the team hasn’t scored in the league in over a month (six matches). Millwall are unbeaten since that date and haven’t conceded in five matches. There’s a decent chance we’re playing each other in the Championship next year.
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Millwall have a solid record at home in both league and cup and will gun for the win just as they did previously in the FA Cup against Bournemouth and Watford. If there’s any respite for Leicester, it’s that the FA Cup has provided a decent relief from the league, and the Foxes have managed to actually win a game on the road in the cup.
But to restore the nerves for Leicester, Ranieri has pledged to drastically shake up the squad this Saturday with 10 changes as the Italian looks to keep the Foxes above water in the league after five straight defeats. You can clearly see where his priorities lie. If we had a bit more stability in the Premier League, this would actually look like a decent season with Champions League Round of 16 and FA Cup Sixth Round berths. Poor results in the next three matches and I could definitely see Ranieri’s position as manager in jeopardy.
Huge two weeks for the Foxes as we nudge toward the edge of no return in every competition.