City Travel To Wearside For Cup Action
PLEASE NOTE: THIS GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO FREEZING CONDITIONS.
Leicester return to cup action for the first time in six weeks, when they travel to the North East to face Barclays Women's Championship side, Sunderland on Thursday evening.
Prior to their meeting against the Black Cats, here is all the information you'll need, as well as a detailed look at both outfits...
The Foxes camp
Willie Kirk's side head into the fixture on the back of an 8-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, seeing this match against Sunderland as an opportunity to gain some confidence, as they travel to Merseyside to challenge Liverpool in the Barclays Women's Super League only three days later.
Although currently sat bottom of the WSL, the Foxes hold third position in Group B of the cup competition, with three points from two games. That win coming at Blackburn Rovers on Sunday 2 October when Mackenzie Smith, Connie Scofield and Aileen Whelan settled the scoreline.
It's fair to say Leicester are struggling on the injury front, with Ashleigh Plumptre sidelined until January, Erin Simon set to sit out Thursday, while Abbie McManus and Shannon O'Brien missed the Chelsea game through concussion. On a positive note, forward Hannah Cain made her comeback against the Blues, after suffering an ACL injury over 12 months ago.
The opposition
Sunderland head into the fixture with the memory of a 5-0 league win against Coventry United on Sunday still firmly in their minds. Emily Scarr scored four on the day, with Jessica Brown rounding off an impressive performance.
However, that win - against a Coventry side, currently bottom of the Championship with zero points - is only the Black Cats' second win of the season, as they sit in 11th place in the second tier, with seven points from 10 games.
Focusing on Group B of the cup, Thursday's hosts are sat one place below Leicester in fourth, without a point from their first two games, having lost 3-0 to Manchester City before falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday 2 October.
Last time out
There's not been a recent competitive fixture between the two teams on record, so it will be a new challenge for Kirk's side as they will have to learn quickly how to combat against the northern club.
After picking up three points from Championship side Blackburn, Leicester were more recently defeated 4-0 by Liverpool at Pirelli Stadium in the competition. Missy Bo Kearns, Rhiannon Roberts, Rachel Furness and Katie Stengel scored the goals against a young City line-up.
Ticket and coverage details
Tickets for the Foxes' cup fixture with Sunderland can be found via the home side's official website, HERE.