Leicester City v Brighton: The Foxes FA Cup view with Leicester Till I Die
The fifth round draw of the FA Cup has not exactly been kind to Brighton, throwing up a trip to title chasing Leicester City – but it did at least give us an excuse to speak to Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die.
Chris is one of our favourite opposition fans to interview as, no matter how well Leicester are doing at the time, he always likes to point out that the Foxes have a long and proud tradition at “shooting themselves in the foot”.
It is the sort of realism that Brighton fans do so well as we all know how capable the Albion are of veering from the sublime to the ridiculous in double-quick time.
On the agenda for our latest catch up were Leicester’s hopes of top four qualification, whether this would be as comfortable an evening for the Foxes as when we last met at the King Power Stadium in December, and perhaps most important of all, how seriously will Brendan Rodgers be taking the competition?
Here is what Chris from Leicester Till I Die had to say as Leicester and Brighton prepare to do battle with a place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup up for grabs.
Leicester are going very well in the Premier League at the moment. You must be happy with your season so far?
Very happy. This makes it two seasons in a row now that we have been challenging for a top four position, and as fans we hope this means we could turn the big six into the big seven by becoming permanent contenders for a Champions League place.
That said, at the back of our minds is what happened last season when we fell away to finish fifth. You never quite know what will happen with Leicester as we are very good at shooting ourselves in the foot!
Talk us through Leicester’s run to the fifth round of the FA Cup so far?
This is our third game in the run and on paper the most difficult. We have faced away trips to two Championship sides so far which could have been banana skins, so to come through 4-0 at Stoke City and then 3-1 at Brentford was satisfying.
With a Champions League spot very much within Leicester’s grasp, how seriously can we expect Brendan Rodgers to take the FA Cup?
Very seriously. He knows how annoyed Leicester fans were when Claude Puel did not take the competition seriously and we went out away at Newport County, something which played a part in there being so much displeasure with Puel before he was sacked.
We do have the return of the Europa League soon so two games a week is going to become the norm for Leicester. Our squad though is much stronger than the one we had when we played Newport and even if Rodgers rotates we can name a good side.
Of those who you think are likely to play, who will be the Foxes’ dangermen?
It is difficult to say as our line ups for non-Premier League games are hard to second guess. We have made plenty of changes for games in early rounds of knockout competitions this season. If they play, then you would expect Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes and James Maddison to give Brighton plenty to think about.
It was a relatively comfortable 3-0 win last time Leicester and Brighton met in the Premier League. What did you make of that December game at the King Power?
For Leicester to win 3-0 against Brighton at home was quite surprising as our better form has come away this season.
Two late first half goals killed off the match as a contest and Leicester had more possession, more shots, more passes and more touches, which kind of sums up the match.
Since we have both been in the Premier League, we have not lost to Brighton, winning five and drawing two – so hopefully that continues in the FA Cup.
Finally, what is the Leicester Till I Die prediction for Leicester v Brighton?
Leicester 3-1 Brighton
Thanks to Chris for answering our questions before Leicester and Brighton meet in the FA Cup – you can read his take on the match over at Leicester Till I Die and do not forget to follow Leicester Till I Die on Twitter.
