One Point For City's Women In League Cup
Shana Chossenotte scored her first Leicester goal but an equaliser from Lexi Lloyd-Smith drew the scores level before the Robins went on to win 2-1 on penalties at Pirelli Stadium.
Amandine Miquel made nine changes to the side that were narrowly beaten by Arsenal, with Chantelle Swaby and Sari Kees coming in for their first Leicester starts, while Academy forward Nelly Las earned her senior debut.
The first chance of the game in Burton fell for the Under-21s player, when a precise through ball to Deanne Rose led to the Canadian winger rounding the Robins goalkeeper and striking the ball towards goal; rolling ever-closer, Las was striving towards the goal but was beaten by the Bristol City defender, who managed to clear.
City's next chance fell to Sam Tierney when, after some sustained possession, a well-whipped delivery into the box was met by the header of the captain, who beat the 'keeper to the ball, but guided the effort over the bar.
Heading into the second half, it was Rose who was dangerous, spearheading the attack and looking threatening; creating a chance for herself on the edge of the box but she saw her curling effort fall into gloves of Jacqueline Burns.
Midway through the second period, several substitutions were made to encourage a breakthrough which finally came for the hosts in the form of Chossenotte.
Running on to a through ball inside the box, the winger did well to beat the 'keeper from a tight angle, and claim her first Leicester goal since joining the Club from Stade de Reims in the summer.
As the game went on, City continued to pose a threat but it was the Robins who struck next, finding the back of the net through goalscorer Lexi Lloyd-Smith.
With nothing to separate the sides and with a point earned each, the game went to penalties to determine another, as the cold October night started to fall in Burton.
Janina Leitzig pulled off some incredible saves and managed to stop three of the Bristol City penalties. But Burns was in superb form, too, for the visitors. With both shot-stoppers proving difficult to beat, it was Bristol City who took the extra point, winning 2-1 on spot kicks.
Attention now reverts back to the Barclays Women's Super League when Leicester welcome Crystal Palace to King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3pm BST kick-off).