Brentford vs. Leicester City
Venue: Griffin Park
Kick off: 1:45PM
Leicester City make the trip to Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round looking to very their quest of winning the two domestic cup competitions this season.
Ahead of Wednesday’s top-flight meeting with West Ham United, Brendan Rodgers would have been aware that the pressure was growing on his side after their failure to defeat Aston Villa, Southampton and Burnley respectively.
However, the Foxes proved during the opening 45 minutes against the Hammers that they had rediscovered the confidence and swagger which have kept them in the top four of the Premier League table for much of this season.
With injuries being sustained to Jamie Vardy and Nampalys Mendy, the evening did not go perfectly for the Foxes, but a dominant 4-1 victory resulted in the club ending the night with a 14-point advantage over fifth-placed Manchester United.
Rodgers and his squad now have the welcome distraction of the FA Cup and EFL Cup, with the latter perhaps taking priority given that they are just one win away from a place in next month’s final.
Nevertheless, despite the prospect of mass changes being made on Saturday lunchtime, Rodgers will want his fringe players to give him a reason to stop him entering the transfer market before the end of the month.
As far as Brentford is concerned, prolonging their interest in the FA Cup will divide opinion among their fanbase as they bid to remain in the Championship promotion hunt.
That said, this is an ideal opportunity for Thomas Frank’s developing squad to test themselves against one of the best teams in the country in front of their own supporters.
While Frank will be expected to field a starting lineup which is stronger than the one from the narrow win over Stoke City in round three, the club’s priorities are elsewhere with a huge showdown with Nottingham Forest coming up on Tuesday night.
With the pressure off, that could play into the London outfit’s favour, and whoever takes to the pitch at the weekend in front of the television cameras will want to showcase why Brentford are genuine contenders to earn a spot in next season’s Premier League.
Brentford possible XI: Daniels, Racic, Jeanvier, Pinnock, Rasmussen, Marcondes, Yearwood, Norgaard, Marcondes, Castillo, Mbeumo.
Leicester City possible XI: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Benkovic, Fuchs, Choudhury, Praet, Albrighton, Perez, Barnes, Gray.