So then, just who exactly will face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final this year? On a chilly, wet and fervent east Midlands night came a semi-final first leg that proved much more even and intriguingly poised than the one that came before it. If what took place at Old Trafford was a procession bordering on a humiliation, this encounter at the King Power was a genuine contest, and while Leicester remain favourites to reach Wembley, Aston Villa can take great heart from how they performed and will believe they can make the return fixture on their own patch one to remember.
Dean Smith certainly believes Villa remain alive in this tie, speaking afterwards of how his players can “take a lot of confidence and belief” from their display against a side that, it should be remembered, beat them 4-1 a month ago. Villa were ripped apart that day and while there were moments here when they looked incredibly vulnerable, especially during the second half as Leicester performed with renewed pace and intent in pursuit of a goal to cancel out Frédéric Guilbert’s first-half strike, the men in claret and blue stood firm. Their back three of Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause were especially good while in goal Orjan Nyland made a number of crucial saves before finding himself helpless to keep out Kelechi Iheanacho’s powerfully-hit equaliser on 74 minutes.
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Related: Leicester City 1-1 Aston Villa: Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg – as it happened
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