Preview: Leicester City vs. Swansea City – prediction, team news, lineups

Tuesday night’s match between Leicester City and Swansea City at the King Power Stadium marks their return to Championship action after drastically different outcomes in the FA Cup’s fourth round.

The Swans were smacked by five goals against Premier League Bournemouth, while the Foxes overcame a subpar first half performance to defeat Birmingham City by three goals.

In the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, Leicester City played Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham team in an uncharacteristically poor first half. Enzo Maresca labeled the first half as a disaster during his half-time debriefing, but a few changes made at the break helped the Foxes win the match.

After James Justin and Ricardo Pereira were introduced, the hosts were able to maintain control of the game and book their spot in the fifth round. Jamie Vardy, Yunus Akgun, and Denis Praet all scored goals to secure their place in the tournament. The leaders of the second division were unable to control the match in the first period.

After losing the M69 derby against Coventry City and splitting the results with Ipswich Town last Monday, Leicester is going through a two-game losing streak in the Championship for just the second time this season. Despite this, Maresca’s team is still atop the standings, seven points ahead of Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys in second place.

The first-choice midfield for the Foxes, which includes Wilfred Ndidi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Harry Winks, has the experience to compete in the Premier League. However, with the latter expected to miss some time due to injury, Maresca is eager to sign fellow Italian Stefano Sensi from Inter Milan during the January transfer window.

This season, Stephy Mavididi’s signature runs down the left wing, followed by a curling finish, have wrecked havoc for most second-tier defenses. The 25-year-old is thriving with a team that is expected to return to the first level right away, contributing 13 goals in 28 games.

After losing 5-0 to Southampton and Bournemouth in the previous month, Swansea fans will be tired of seeing the South Coast after the Welsh team’s humiliation at the hands of the Premier League Cherries on Thursday night in the FA Cup fourth round.

Lloyd Kelly, Alex Scott, Luis Sinisterra, David Brooks, and Dominic Solanke all broke through Andrew Fisher’s net during the first half of Andoni Iraola’s team’s furious attack, which lasted 90 minutes at Vitality Stadium and resulted in zero saves.

After Michael Duff was fired as manager of Notts County in December, Luke Williams took over as manager of Swansea. The former manager won his FA Cup debut against Morecambe before collecting just one second-tier point from matches against Russell Martin’s Saints and Birmingham City.

With just two victories in their previous eight league games, the Swans’ current positioning in the Championship is 16th, 10 points behind sixth-place Coventry City. As such, a drive for a playoff slot in the latter months of the season seems a little fanciful.

After playing for Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations, forward Patson Daka, 25, is scheduled to return to England on Friday and be welcomed back by Leicester.

Although Harry Souttar is still playing for Australia at the Asian Cup, Maresca can still use Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes, his first-choice center-back duo.

After making a careless tackle during the encounter against Coventry, Abdul Fatawu was given a straight red card. This Tuesday night will be the last game of his three-game suspension.

Attacker Jamal Lowe, who suffered a muscle injury in Swansea’s January 20 loss to Southampton, will be out of commission.

The former Bournemouth player is in the Swans’ medical room with Josh Ginnelly, another forward, as the summer arrival continues to heal from an injury sustained in September.

Due to a calf injury, Liam Walsh has not played since the team’s victory over West Bromwich Albion on New Year’s Day. It is improbable that the midfielder will play at the King Power.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Vestergaard, Faes, Pereira; Winks, Choudhury, Dewsbury-Hall; Mavididi, McAteer, Cannon

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Darling, Wood, Humphreys, Tymon; Ashby, Grimes, Fulton; Paterson, Cullen, Yates

We say: Leicester City 3-0 Swansea City

Leicester were able to hand a number of their first-team stars a rest during the FA Cup win over Birmingham, meaning the Foxes should be raring to put Swansea to the sword at the King Power.

The Swans have been woeful during away matches against Southampton and Bournemouth over the past month, and with the Foxes runaway leaders at the top of the Championship, it is set to be another tough outing for the Welsh side.