Foxes Held By Fleetwood
The Foxes were much changed for the tie against Uwe Rosler’s men, as Adrien Silva, Harvey Barnes and Eldin Jakupović were all handed maiden starts for the Club.
The first period proved to be an even affair. Inside the opening 10 minutes, debutant Jakupović had to turn Aleksandar Dragović’s heavy back pass behind, while Silva was on hand to clear an effort from the resulting corner off the line just moments later.
Wideman Demarai Gray then saw a shot deflect into the side-netting, Barnes hammered a fierce volley over the bar from 20 yards out and Andy King headed off target from inside the box.
After a tight start to the second half, Claude Puel introduced Marc Albrighton and Shinji Okazaki in place of Silva and Barnes just before the hour mark, but it was the hosts who would next go closest.
Markus Schwabl connected well with a volley from distance, but Jakupović was there again to hold onto the German midfielder’s effort.
Following some good work from Gray on the left flank, the winger nearly saw his deep cross to the back post find the back of the net with Islam Slimani lurking, while King curled wide from the edge of the box shortly after.
Rosler’s outfit had an opportunity of their own to win it late on, but thankfully, Jakupović was there to hold onto Ashley Hunter’s deflected effort after it cannoned back off the post and into the arms of the Leicester ‘keeper.
Major moment
It was imperative for Eldin Jakupović to remain alert right up until the full-time whistle, as the stopper made an important save to ensure Ashley Hunter’s strike didn’t creep into the net in injury time.
Who impressed?
Hoping to cause an upset, Fleetwood Town had a number of goalscoring opportunities, but on several occasions, Eldin Jakupović positioned himself well to deny the hosts.
His save at the death ensured the Foxes will have the chance to progress to the fourth round when they take on Fleetwood for the second time later this month.
Where do we stand?
City will contest a third round replay with Fleetwood at King Power Stadium on Tuesday 16 January (7:45pm kick-off).
Coming up…
Claude Puel’s men turn their attentions back to the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, as they prepare to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 13 January (3pm kick-off).