The League Cup returns midweek and the more delicately poised of the two ties is up first.
Villa battled gamely three weeks ago at the King Power and dug in for a hard-fought draw to give themselves a fighting chance of booking a Wembley date.
However, they have bigger fish to fry. The last thing Villa want to do is emulate the Birmingham team of 2011 and win the League Cup before going down the following May.
The Villans have an upcoming six-pointer at Bournemouth on Saturday and, given the choice, most Villa fans would surely choose a win on the south coast over a win on Tuesday which would almost inevitably see them being humiliated by Manchester City anyway.
Draw half time/ Leicester full time @ 7/2
Leicester are in a completely different boat. Brendan Rodgers’ side looked to have hit the wall with successive defeats to Southampton and Burnley but have bounced back impressively with wins over West Ham and Brentford.
The form of the teams below Leicester also effectively guarantees them of their place in the Champions League next season, so they may as well try and collect some silverware along the way.
The return leg saw the Foxes probe and toil against a rigid Villa defence and it could pan out in a similar fashion on Tuesday. The Foxes will have to be patient, but they should eventually get the job done.
Under 2.5 goals @ 7/5
If Villa do sit in and try to draw Leicester onto them, we could be in for a low-scoring affair.
Villa had just 30% of the ball in the reverse fixture and just the one shot on target in 90 minutes, although they did strike the crossbar as well. Their goal, from a right back, also came from an unlikely source and Villa are extremely light up front following the injury of Wesley.
It’s hard to see where Villa’s goals will come from apart from the cultured right boot of Jack Grealish and even that is difficult to imagine, given that Leicester can afford to pay close attention to him.
Leicester’s 4-1 win over West Ham aside, the Foxes also haven’t been very free scoring lately and even that thrashing of the West Ham involved two goals in the last 10 minutes. It could be a tight one on Tuesday.
Ayoze Perez to score anytime @ 2/1
Between injuries and the birth of his daughter, it has been an uncommon dry spell for Jamie Vardy and Leicester’s unlikely (and unsustainable) title charge has stalled in the absence of his goals. Vardy is a doubt for Tuesday’s game after pulling a muscle in the win over West Ham and there is a number of players who could step up to fill the void he leaves.
Ayoze Perez is enjoying a decent debut season in the East Midlands and has flourished in Vardy’s absence. The Spanish forward turned winger scored in the win over Newcastle on New Year’s Day before grabbing a brace in the win over West Ham.
Those two goals were the first he has scored at the King Power Stadium and he has been far more clinical on his travels, scoring five times this season away from home. He’s as good a shout as any Leicester forward to find the net on Tuesday, and at 2/1, represents an excellent return.