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Still seeking his first competitive victory as Leicester City manager, Steve Cooper hopes that the third time will be the charm when his team faces Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Cup second-round match on Tuesday.
The Foxes will host their League Two opponents at the King Power Stadium following a 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League, while Tranmere already boasts a 3-0 win in this year’s League Cup.
After a respectable draw against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day, Leicester briefly experienced a sense of deja vu against Fulham, who initially failed to capitalize on Emile Smith Rowe’s early goal on Saturday. Despite Fulham’s dominance, Wout Faes managed to equalize for Leicester before halftime at a rainy Craven Cottage, but Alex Iwobi restored Fulham’s lead in the second half.
The narrow loss in West London was particularly frustrating for Cooper, who believed Leicester deserved at least a point but lamented the defensive errors that allowed Smith Rowe and Iwobi to score.
As Leicester continues their search for a first Premier League win, they now turn their attention to the EFL Cup, a competition they have won three times, most recently in 1999-00, when they defeated Tranmere in the final.
Since then, Leicester’s best performance in the competition was a semi-final exit to Aston Villa in 2019-20. It has been a decade since the 2015-16 Premier League champions were knocked out in the second round.
Meanwhile, Tranmere has not come close to reaching the EFL Cup final again since their defeat to Leicester 24 years ago. They have only progressed beyond the second round once in their last 19 appearances, losing to Stoke City in the third round in 2013-14.
Tranmere’s last two EFL Cup campaigns ended at this stage, but Nigel Adkins’ team has already made a strong start this season, including a 3-0 win over Accrington Stanley in round one.
With three games played in the 2024-25 League Two season, Tranmere remains the only team yet to concede a goal, securing goalless draws against Port Vale and Notts County before Omari Patrick’s goal sealed a 1-0 win over Walsall on Saturday.
Their only major setback so far has been a 3-1 defeat to Everton’s Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, but otherwise, Tranmere has displayed solid defensive performances, though they have struggled to find consistency in front of goal.
Leicester and Tranmere previously met at this same stage of last year’s EFL Cup, where second-half goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy secured a 2-0 win for the Foxes at Prenton Park.
