Leicester City host League One's Fleetwood Town in Tuesday's FA Cup third round replay, and Alan Dudman is predicting a straightforward victory for Claude Puel's men following the 0-0 draw in the first encounter...
Leicester City v Fleetwood Town
Tuesday, 19:45 GMT 
Live on BT Sport 2/BT Sport 4K

Puel impact starting to show

The Foxes were booed by their own fans in the first game between these two at Fleetwood. In the drab 0-0 in Lancashire, Leicester failed to muster a single shot on target despite having 59% of the ball. Manager Claude Puel made eight changes for that, and the much weaker team looked just that - weak and very ineffective. Perhaps a cup run isn't high on the agenda?
However, Saturday's 0-0 at Stamford Bridge against the Premier League Champions Chelsea was an outstanding display. Yes, Leicester took advantage of a tired-looking Antonio Conte side, but they mustered 12 shots in the first-half against the Londoners and Puel felt his team should have won. The French tactician needed to address the clean sheet problem when he took over (or lack of them), and the recent shutouts against Chelsea and Huddersfield meant that consecutive clean sheets were recorded in the Premier League for the first time since May 2017.
Puel has also created (from the outside anyway) a hungrier team and excellent spirit. City sit in eighth position in the top flight, and he's getting a tune out of Riyad Mahrez again.
Indeed, Betfair Ambassador Graeme Le Saux described the appointment as a masterstroke.

Back to the Fleetwood of old?

The Cod Army have never progressed beyond the third round of the FA Cup, and you get the feeling they blew their chance after the 0-0 at Highbury a fortnight ago. Fleetwood manager Uwe Rosler felt his team should have won the game, and he was right. Ashley Huntercaused Leicester all sorts of problems down the left-hand side, and almost fired Town in front with an effort that hit the woodwork.
However, the smaller pitch at Fleetwood very much played to the strengths of Rosler's men, as they looked organised and well-drilled. Leicester couldn't string two passes together in the game - but credit to their opponents - as they didn't let them.
Town are looking stronger these days in League One, and Rosler has stated that they are starting to resemble the club that finished in the top four last term. High praise indeed, as they made the playoffs and were an excellent counter-attacking team back then. Recent form in the third tier reads WLWW.

Tempted by the massive price on Fleetwood?

I've dealt with a few FA Cup previews this term - mostly League One teams against non-league opposition, but I haven't seen a price of 16.00 for any of the outsiders thus far in a match. At those odds, Fleetwood definitely missed their chance in the first fixture - and they were chalked-up for that at 6.80.
Town were 2-1 winners at the weekend at Southend, on a pitch in Essex that resembles a cabbage patch these days. Fleetwood's goalscorers on Saturday were Toumani Diagouraga and Paddy Madden - who both featured in earlier rounds of the Cup for Plymouth and Scunthorpe unfortunately.
Rosler has a young team who usually play in a counter-attacking way, and they are in much better shape both in terms of results and players coming back to fitness.
The money-buyers of Leicester for the replay at 1.28 might get stuck in here, but there isn't a lot of mileage for me to go anywhere with that. And I certainly wouldn't dream of tipping up anything around 1/4.
On the flip side, layers will be thinking about the number of changes Puel made in the first game and how poor Leicester were in that. At 1.28 it is certainly a cheap lay, and they were priced-up around 1.75 for the recent Premier League game with Huddersfield. They were 1.46 for the match at Fleetwood too.
If you fancy a longer term project, Leicester are 24.00 in the FA Cup Winner market.

Take a punt on a pair of Correct Score predictions

I don't think anyone will be getting too carried away with Fleetwood's League One form in the context of this. I mentioned their recent three wins in the last four, which is a lot better than the previous run of five defeats in seven - but they are improving and I think with their organisation and how superbly Nathan Pond deputised for the injured Ash Eastham in the first match at Highbury - they can give a good account of themselves.
Rosler is a decent tactician - one of the best in the third tier. He'll be spot on for this.
Going with a decent defensive showing from the visitors and a likely weakened Leicester team, the hosts might just lack some fluency but have the class to come through. I would play two bets at Correct Scores 2-0 at 6.00 and 3-0 at 8.00.
With that logic, the sensible bet is to back Leicester to win HT/FT at fair odds of 4/5 on the Sportsbook.

Having a Vardy party?

The supposed "Jamie Vardy derby" at Fleetwood didn't quite happen due to a groin injury, and the 30-year-old was not risked in the first game a fortnight ago. The 30-year-old England striker played 82 minutes against Chelsea on Saturday, and will relish the chance to play against his former club. Whether he will start is anyone's guess. As First Goalscorer on the exchange, he is priced at around 3.50, although Islam Slimani got the nod against Fleetwood in the first game. A match where he saw hardly any of the ball with a measly number of touches.
Demarai Gray played in the first fixture and his pace and high position could trouble Fleetwood. He came off the bench at Stamford Bridge for eight minutes, so he might feature here. He could have a few fans in the To Score market at around 3.00.

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