Leicester City

Image source, Getty Images

Boss Gary Rowett said improving defensively will be key to steering Leicester City away from the Championship relegation zone.

The Foxes came from behind to lead Stoke City with two minutes left, but conceded to draw 2-2.

"The players are devastated because they want to win games of football," Rowett told BBC Radio Leicester.

"It's very easy to judge and label players, but sometimes you have to just see what they're about.

"At the moment, they've been really receptive to the ideas. They want to get out of the position they are in. They all recognise that it's not acceptable to be in a position we're in with the quality that we've got.

"But it's about doing it on the pitch. We can talk about it till we're blue in the face, but it's about showing it. And, in the second half, they did.

"We've got some really, really good players. But we need to do is find a really nice defensive base so that those players in the forward areas haven't got to score two, three, four goals every game to go and win it. We certainly have to be a little bit more solid."

Image source, Opta

Two sides struggling for form in the Championship will meet when Stoke City welcome Leicester City on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

The Potters have seen their promotion hopes fade with just four wins in 18 games since the start of November (D4 L10) to slide from second to 14th - and are without a victory in their past six matches (D3 L3), in which they have scored just two goals.

The Foxes have lost four on the bounce, are without a win in six (D1) and have just two victories from their past 11 games (D1 L8).

Their six-point deduction for breaching PSR rules - which they are appealing against - has only compounded their woes with Leicester facing back-to-back relegations as they start the weekend in 22nd, two points from safety.

• Stoke have lost their past three league meetings with Leicester, conceding nine goals in the process and only scoring once themselves. They have never lost four in a row against the Foxes in their league history.

• Leicester are unbeaten in their previous six league away games against Stoke (W2 D4), with their last defeat there coming in March 2007 (2-4) under Rob Kelly.

• Stoke City are winless across their past five home league games (D2 L3), losing each of the past two – they last lost three home league games in a row in October 2023.

• Leicester have lost four successive Championship games and will be looking to avoid losing more in a row outside the Premier League for the first time since January 2006 (6 defeats).

• Stoke City have failed to score in each of their past three games in the Championship, last going on a longer league run without scoring in March 2019 (4 games).

Image source, EFL

Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

So, former Foxes defender Gary Rowett is the man tasked with steadying the ship for Leicester City in the Championship until the end of this season.

The 51-year-old was sacked by fellow strugglers Oxford United in December but will need to find a more successful route away from the bottom three as he takes his new side to visit a former dwelling in Stoke City on Saturday.

Do you think Rowett was the right call, Foxes fans?

Should he keep you up, would you like to see him take on your long-term ambitions of a return to the Premier League?

Would you have preferred someone else or is he exactly what you need?

Let us know your thoughts here and check back later to see a selection of your responses.

Pundits Ellen White and Shay Given join host Alex Scott to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Hull City 0-4 Chelsea

• Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich

• Burton Albion 0-1 West Ham

• Manchester City 2-0 Salford City

• Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle

• Liverpool 3-0 Brighton and Hove Albion

Leicester City interim head coach Andy King was keen to point out positives in his side's performance despite their exit from the FA Cup.

The Foxes were able to draw themselves level at St Mary's thanks to an Oliver Skipp overhead kick just after half-time but conceded in extra time to exit the competition.

"I'm pleased with the performance on the main and there were plenty of positives from the game," King said.

"We played four teenagers who I thought went about things reall well, they were very mature in their performance and stuck to the game plan which is how I wanted them to.

"But in key moments we have to be better, we have to be stronger with the challenge on the edge of the box with one minute to go before half time and then don't need to give the penalty away.

"We got oursleves back into the game and we just can't concede from a set play in added time but across the game I was pleased with the performance."

There are seven ties in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Burton v West Ham (12:15) - BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Radio Derby

• Burnley v Mansfield - BBC Radio Lancashire & BBC Radio Nottingham

• Man City v Salford - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3 & BBC Radio Manchester

• Norwich v West Brom - BBC Radio Norfolk & BBC Radio WM

• Port Vale P-P Bristol City

• Southampton v Leicester- BBC Radio Solent & BBC Radio Leicester

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:45) - BBC iPlayer,BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (with second half on BBC Radio 5 Live), BBC Radio WM & BBC Radio Newcastle

• Liverpool v Brighton (20:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Merseyside & BBC Radio Sussex

Kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burton v West Ham" of "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Brighton", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

How to follow the FA Cup fourth round on the BBC

These two sides know quite a lot about each other - with Tuesday's spectacular Championship victory for Southampton, coming from 3-0 down to win 4-3 at Leicester City, still fresh in the memory.

The Saints are going for a second treble over the Foxes, having also won both league games and an FA Cup tie in the 2007-2008 season.

• This will be the eighth FA Cup tie between Southampton and Leicester City and first since the pair met at the semi-final stage in April 2021, with the Foxes winning 1-0 at Wembley that day before going on to lift the trophy with a final win over Chelsea.

• Leicester City have faced Southampton twice before in the FA Cup fourth round, winning a reply 4-2 in January 1970 before losing 1-0 to the Saints at this stage in January 2006.

• After losing their last home FA Cup game against Burnley 2-1 in January last year, Southampton will be hoping to avoid losing consecutive FA Cup games on home soil for the first time since January 2016.

• Leicester have progressed from seven of their past nine FA Cup fourth-round ties since 2014-15 but did lose at this stage last season 2-1 against Manchester United. The Foxes were last eliminated at this stage in successive seasons in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

• Leicester's Stephy Mavididi has scored in all three of his FA Cup appearances for the club, getting a goal and an assist in their 2-0 third-round win against Cheltenham this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga will be available for the Foxes' rematch against Southampton on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in the FA Cup. However, defender Jannik Vestergaard has been ruled out for four to six weeks.

Monga, 16, has returned to training after missing out on the 4-3 defeat to the Saints on Tuesday, while Vestergaard, 33, has not been present for the side's past three games.

Foxes caretaker boss Andy King confirmed after the loss to Southampton that the Denmark international was having surgery for a hernia.

"Jannik is going to be out for a while," King said during his media conference.

"It's a shame for us, he's played a lot for this season but apart from that we are OK [with new injuries]."

King has also confirmed that he has not heard anything about the arrival of a new manager after Marti Cifuentes was sacked in January.

But with the FA Cup offering a "shop window" for players hoping to impress an incoming head coach, the 37-year-old is aiming to dispel the club's current run of poor form before a new face sits in the managerial seat.

He added: "It'll be almost a little bit different, without the pressure of the three points and our league position, but that doesn't take anything away from the importance of the game [against Southampton].

"We've not been on a run of good form and we need a win to try and change our momentum, we need a win to get the mood in the camp lifted."

Leicester City's 4-3 defeat to Southampton after conceding a 3-0 first-half lead has got many tongues wagging - but is it a surprise?

The 72+ team was joined by Millwall midfielder Massimo Luongo to discuss the Foxes' downfall on Tuesday night and the Australian expressed his doubts over the squad's current mentality.

"I think it's the end product of so many warning signs throughout the season," Luongo said.

"As soon as they got the six-point deduction, I thought 'are they the team to band together, to really fight it out, to work hard for each other?' - probably not.

"Are a lot of the individuals thinking 'I shouldn't be here, can I get a move?'... the result just sums that up.

"When it got a little bit tough, do you float or do you sink, and unfortunately, they just sank."

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