MK Dons vs Leicester City - Form, odds and stats

MK Dons will be hoping to pick up on some Leicester City ring-rust this evening when the sides lock horns for a spot in the Carabao Cup quarter finals.

The Foxes haven’t kicked a ball in anger since November 12 prior to the international break for the World Cup, while Dons on the other hand have had ups and downs, mostly downs truthfully, which have impacted massively on their season.

Dropping deeper into the League One relegation zone cost Liam Manning his job as head coach 10 days ago, with a replacement yet to sign on the dotted line. While Dean Lewington took charge of the last two matches of the managerless Dons, hamstring surgery means he is out for the foreseeable future, leaving Bradley Johnson to shoulder the responsibility of leading the side tonight.

Dons’ unlikely win over Portsmouth on Saturday though means they head into tonight’s game with confidence behind them, and with little to no expectation on them to pick up a result either. The last time they played higher-level opposition, they saw off Watford 2-0 at Vicarage Road in the second round of this competition back in August.

Brendan Rodgers’ side, while they haven’t played in over a month, have just one defeat in their last seven, picking up in the Premier League to sit 13th when the season recommences on Boxing Day. City needed extra time to see off Stockport County in second round of the Cup, before beating Newport County 3-0 last time out.

Dons will be without Lewington and Johnson, but also Darragh Burns after the Irishman turned his ankle in the 1-1 draw with Burton Albion a little over two weeks ago.

Leicester will travel down the M1 at least without James Maddison after his England stint at the World Cup, while defender Caglar Soyuncu could return after suffering an injury before the international break but Jonny Evans could miss out through injury.

The sides have met just twice in competitive matches - though there have been a handful of pre-season friendlies since - and both came in the 2008/09 season. Newly promoted Dons were beaten 2-0 by Leicester on the opening day of the season, but Roberto Di Matteo’s side rallied that season and fought to get into the automatic promotion race. While Leicester ran away with the title, it could have been a different story had Max Gradl’s 97th minute free-kick not sailed past Willy Gueret to equalise in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Stadium MK in February 2009.

Referee Andre Marriner will take charge of tonight’s game. Marriner has taken charge of eight games this season, booking 26 while keeping his red in his pocket. He last officiated Dons in League Two, when they beat Macclesfield 2-0 in November 2018. Simon Long and Sam Lewis will run the lines with Fourth Official Tim Robinson.

Bookmakers have Dons out at 9/1 to win tonight, with Leicester heavy favourites at 1/3, while the draw is 15/4.