FA Cup replay: Changes likely as teams prioritise Premier League

Both Leicester, Tottenham hope to finish in the top four and may rest key players for the tie

Tottenham Hotspur will travel to the King Power Stadium in the hopes of finally getting one over Leicester City in their FA Cup third-round reply on Wednesday — the rivals’ third encounter in just 10 days.

The North Londoners are most probably sick of tackling Claudio Ranieri’s men who have proven to be a tough nut to crack in closely contested games between the two sides.

Their last Premier League game ended 1-0 in Leicester’s favour while their FA Cup fixture before that resulted in a 2-2 draw. Wednesday night is expected to be just as tight and both Mauricio Pochettino and Ranieri are expected to make widespread changes considering their strong positions in the Premier League table. The winner will take a fourth-round away trip to League One outfit Colchester United.



Tottenham will be boosted by their recent 4-1 win over the weekend against Sunderland, although many would argue they did not go out all guns blazing in the match.



On the other hand, Leicester failed go clear top of the table after a poor display led them to draw with relegation candidates Aston Villa.

“We are disappointed [after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa] and now I want us to show our strength in the next match,” said Ranieri. “I’m not so pleased because we wanted three points. All my players wanted three points. It’s okay, the league carries on and we must concentrate now for the next match in the cup.”

Both sides are relatively injury-free, although Tottenham still have existing concerns with the fitness of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb.



Leicester are likely to rest Jamie Vardy with the focus primarily on the Premier League and January signing Demarai Gray is in line to start.

Pochettino’s similar focus may lead him to rest Harry Kane, though Heung min-Son is yet to convince that he can lead the side from the front, while Tim Carroll may claim a place in central midfield ahead of Mousa Dembele.

“It’s impossible to play with the same players every game. It’s very difficult. Sometimes we need to pick different players, to share the minutes and try to play like this,” said Pochettino.



Liverpool v Exeter City

Liverpool host fourth-tier side Exeter City in their third round FA Cup replay on Wednesday at Anfield after their previous week’s encounter ended in a 2-2 draw in which the hosts led twice at St James Park.

The Premier League giants fielded an understrength side with an average age of 22, with just 34 appearances between them, and Jurgen Klopp has hinted that little will be changed in the line-up for the upcoming game against Exeter due to injury problems.

“It’ll be a very different environment to the game at St James Park a few weeks ago, albeit the two teams might be similar,” said Exeter manager Paul Tisdale, who had never managed a team in the third round of the FA Cup until this season. “I don’t know what team Klopp will select but he might pick the same. It’ll be a different set of circumstances, a different environment and a different playing surface.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2016.

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