Justin's FA Cup Third Round Eagerness

- Leicester City full-back James Justin previews Saturday's Emirates FA Cup visit to Stoke City
- The Foxes tackle Michael O'Neill's Potters in a third round tie at 3pm at bet365 Stadium
- Justin believes the squad are motivated to launch another run into the latter stages of the competition
- The 23-year-old also elaborates on his ambitions to continue delivering laudable performances

The Foxes travel to Staffordshire on Saturday for a 3pm kick-off against Michael O'Neill's rejuvenated Potters in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Stoke finished 15th in the Sky Bet Championship last term, emerging from a fraught relegation battle to eventually sit eight points clear of Charlton Athletic, in 22nd place.

However, in former Northern Ireland manager O'Neill's first full season in charge, the one-time League Cup winners are now positioned eighth after 23 games, two points adrift of the play-off berths.

Justin, 23, says that marked improvement, in both performances and results, is reason to approach the fixture with focus, while also discussing Leicester's own cup ambitions this term.

"Getting far in the cup competitions, for me personally, is one of the biggest things," the ex-Luton Town man told LCFC TV. "Definitely, as a group, it’s the same, and it’s a big match on Saturday.

"I don’t know them as much as a Premier League team, but I know they had a tough season but this season they’re doing well and are in and around the play-offs, so it’ll be a hard game."

City's 2019/20 FA Cup hopes came to an end in a slender quarter-finals reverse against Chelsea at King Power Stadium on 28 June, with Ross Barkley's second-half strike settling the tie.

However, Justin believes the Foxes are determined to make amends with another run into the competition's latter stages this time around - starting at bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

"We felt, against Chelsea, we played quite well, actually," he added. "We just got caught out on a couple of sloppy mistakes from us personally. We’ll be looking to put that right this season."

As Leicester's top appearance-maker in 2020/21, with 23 outings to his name, the England Under-21s defender is keen, also, to continue his individual progression, which has earned many plaudits this term.

"It’s been a really good season for me," he explained. "I’ve really enjoyed playing all of the games and being involved in all the games and, hopefully, I can keep that going and keep the consistency."

All times GMT.