Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's League Cup match between Championship side Leicester City and the Premier League's own Manchester City. The visitors have been in scintillating form recently, but this is far from a foregone conclusion tonight. Let's take a look why...

We'll start by focusing on our hosts tonight, and things have not been going Leicester's way of late. They picked up a decent 1-1 draw with then league leaders Burnley in their last outing, extending their winless streak to three matches following defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton in their previous two games.

That form has seen them slip out of the automatic promotion places into third, trailing QPR by three points. Nigel Pearson's men are still very well placed to launch a promotion charge and join Man City in the top flight next season, but they will need to put an end to their poor form sooner rather than later. There may not be any points up for grabs this evening, but a win over a team of Man City's quality would surely give Leicester the kick-start they need to get their season back on track.

That is not to say that the Foxes' season has exactly been derailed by the last three games. As well as sitting third, Leicester have the second best attacking record in the division, with only Derby being able to better their tally of 32 goals scored.

In addition to this, only three teams in the Championship have a better defensive record than Nigel Pearson's side, and two of those currently occupy the automatic promotion places. Leicester have conceded 22 goals in their 20 games so far this season, which isn't exactly a watertight defence but is a decent enough record in the Championship.

Leicester beat Fulham in the last round of this competition, so they know how to overcome Premier League opposition - even if today's opponents are at the opposite end of the table to the Cottagers. That match ended as a 4-3 thriller, with Lloyd Dyer scoring the winner in the 89th minute. Leicester have also beaten Wycombe, Carlisle and Derby to make it for the last eight.

Few teams have been able to match the Foxes along the way in this competition so far this season. Nigel Pearson's side have scored the most goals in the League Cup with 13 and have also registered the most shots, with 51. Stretching even further back than the current campaign, Leicester have managed to find the back of the net in each of their last 29 League Cup matches, scoring 68 goals in that time at an average of 2.3 per game. Not bad at all.

Leicester are looking for a place in the last four of the competition for the first time since 2000, when they went on to win the whole thing. While their own absence in the semi-finals of the League Cup has been fairly long-lasting, the same can't be said of all lower league teams. Six sides from outside the Premier League have reached the semis of the League Cup in the last five years and, as the Football League's only remaining representative in the competition, it is up to Leicester to keep that impressive statistic up tonight.

If they are to pull off a shock victory, their home advantage will no doubt help them. They have lost just one of their last 12 games at the King Power Stadium in all competitions and have only dropped seven points here all season. It isn't quite a fortress like the Etihad, but the Foxes are certainly more comfortable here than they are on their travels.

While City's home form has been imperious this season, winning 11 of 12 matches and scoring a whopping 50 goals, their away form has been rather more shaky, which could give Leicester some hope today. Manuel Pellegrini's side have already lost to Cardiff, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Southampton on their travels this season, and considering Leicester may by joining them in the Premier League next season, a win for the Foxes tonight is not completely out of the question.

If they are to pull off a shock victory, though, Leicester will need to overcome a Man City side in incredible form. They are unbeaten in their last eight matches, dropping just two points and scoring 26 goals in that time. The past week has arguably been one of the greatest in their history as they came from two goals down to beat reigning European champions Bayern Munich last Tuesday before hammering league leaders Arsenal 6-3 at the Etihad on Saturday.

Like Leicester, Man City are also three points off the lead at the top of the Premier League following their drubbing of Arsenal. They can go one better than the Foxes in the scoring stakes, however, with the top flight's best attacking record having found the net an incredible 47 times already this season. That is eight goals clear of the next highest scorers, who are Liverpool with 39.

Again, like Leicester, only three teams have conceded fewer goals in the league than Man City so far this season, with a defence that has seen an unsettling change of goalkeeper and injury to captain Vincent Kompany only being breached 18 times in 16 games. Only Southampton, Everton and Arsenal can boast a better record in the top flight.

City reached the last eight of this competition courtesy of a 2-0 win over Newcastle, although they did need extra time to overcome the Magpies at St James' Park. Their first appearance in the League Cup this season saw them in full flow in front of goal again as Wigan were comfortably dispatched 5-0.

The only chink in Man City's armour so far this season has been their away form, but even that has been ominously improving over the last few weeks. They are now unbeaten in their last three matches on their travels, including that incredible victory over Bayern Munich last week. City have also won all four of their away cup matches so far this season, so it appears that they only have trouble winning on their travels in the Premier League.

TEAM NEWS: Right, the team news is in from both sides, and the most notable inclusion comes for the visitors as Joe Hart returns between the sticks in place of Costel Pantilimon. Dzeko leads the line up front as another of eight changes overall for the Premier League side, with only Kompany, Zabaleta and David Silva keeping their places from the weekend. Leicester make four changes of their own. Full team news for both sides on the way.

LEICESTER STARTING XI: Schmeichel; Wasilewski, Morgan, Miquel, Konchesky; Knockaert, Drinkwater, King, Dyer, Taylor-Fletcher; Nugent

LEICESTER SUBS: De Laet, Hammond, Vardy, Schlupp, James, Moore, Logan

MANCHESTER CITY STARTING XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Kolarov; Milner, Garcia, Rodwell, Navas, Silva; Dzeko

MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Pantilimon, Nasri, Negredo, Fernandinho, Demichelis, Boyata

So, what can we make of those two teams? Well, starting with Leicester, Pearson had a tough balance to strike this afternoon. A good cup run will always be important to a side who don't get many shots at silverware at the moment, but his priority must surely be to maintain their charge for promotion into the Premier League. As such he has named a strong side without risking players who may not be fully fit but would usually get into the starting XI, such as De Laet and Vardy.

The dangerman for the hosts tonight will be David Nugent, who you may remember once turned out in the white of England. His international career may not have taken off, but he has forged a good reputation for himself in the second tier and is currently the Foxes' top scorer, with 11 goals to his name. He is up against a strong defence this evening but will be hopeful of taking advantage of the changes to make an impact.

As for City, even with their eight changes they are able to name a very strong side. Hart is still England's number one and a top class goalkeeper despite his high-profile errors earlier this season, while the back four is easily strong enough to be named in a normal Premier League match, led as ever by the inspirational Vincent Kompany.

The midfield is largely a functioning one rather than one filled with flair, but as solid as Milner, Garcia and, to a lesser extent, Rodwell are, City have Silva and Navas to provide the creativity for the lone striker Edin Dzeko. All of those midfielders, with the exception of Silva, will have a point to prove tonight as they look to show Manuel Pellegrini that they deserve a more regular place in the starting lineup.

The same could be said of Dzeko up front, who will be particularly keen to impress tonight after a striking spot opened up due to an injury to Sergio Aguero. The Argentine has been in sparkling form this season and is a major loss for the blue half of Manchester, but in Dzeko and Jovetic they have almost £50m worth of strikers ready and willing to fill the void. Dzeko is given the nod today as Jovetic is deemed not fit enough even for the bench, and he will look to stake a claim for a starting spot, which could be dangerous for Leicester.

Both these teams have decent history in this competition, although it may come as some surprise to discover that Leicester golden period comes a lot more recent than Man City's. The Foxes have won it three times, in 1964, 1997 and 2000, and reached the final three times in the space of four years at the end of last century, losing in 1999. They also finished as runners-up in 1965, bringing their grand total of final appearances to five.

In contrast, City have only reached the final on three occasions, winning twice and losing once. All of those final appearances came in the 1970s, with City triumphing in '70 and '76 while losing the final in '74. That means that they haven't reached the Wembley showcase of this competition for almost 40 years.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at the King Power Stadium, which means that it is time for my match prediction! This is not as straightforward a game for City as it might first appear, but they will go into it full of confidence after the week they've had. Leicester will be hoping that City's away day blues resurface this evening, but if Manuel Pellegrini's side were able to beat Munich on their travels just seven days ago, I can't see them losing to Leicester. I'm going to go for a 3-1 away win.

One promising sign for Leicester is that they have a very good record at this stage of the competition. They have previously appeared in the quarter-finals on six occasions and only once have they failed to make it into the last four, losing to West Brom in 1969-70 after a replay. Meanwhile, this is City's 15th appearance in the quarters, and they have made it through to the semis on the last two occasions, both at the expense of Arsenal.

From promising signs for the hosts to worrying signs - Leicester have not recorded a home win over Man City since February 1988. The two sides have played seven times since that 1-0 victory for the Foxes, with four draws and three wins for Man City.

These two sides have met just twice in the League Cup before, with Man City winning on both occasions way back in the 1960s. The last time these two met in any competition was in January 2011 when Man City knocked the Foxes out of the FA Cup in a third round replay with a 4-2 victory, having drawn the initial game 2-2 here.

There is one other quarter-final taking place this evening as Sunderland host Chelsea at the Stadium of Light. You can follow that match with us here, while we also have coverage of the FA Cup clash between Mansfield and Oldham, the winner of which faces a trip to take on Liverpool in the third round.

KICKOFF: Leicester get us underway as they look to pull off a major upset in the League Cup to reach the last four. Man City, meanwhile, have won six and drawn one of their last seven matches against lower league opposition in this tournament - can they extend that record tonight?

City come forward ominously, but Leicester are quick to close down the danger. It was Silva who led the attack, making his way down the left before pulling the ball back for Dzeko, who sliced a shot wide, although it did take a deflection on the way through.

As expected, it is the visitors who are seeing the majority of the ball early on. Leicester have started brightly whenever they do get on the ball, but it is already clear that they will spend most of their time defending this evening.

CHANCE! The first chance of the match falls the way of Man City as a nice move releases Rodwell into the area. He tries to slide the ball past Schmeichel, but the Leicester keeper is out quickly and spreads himself well to make a good save.

Good play from Leicester as Taylor-Fletcher reaches the byline on the right side of the box before pulling the ball back into a dangerous area. City get the ball clear, but it was bright play from the hosts.

What a stunning opener from Kolarov. The full-back steps up to a free kick from a good 30 yards out before curling it into the top corner, past the despairing dive of Schmeichel, who could do nothing about it. If there a better dead-ball specialist in English football? Kolarov is certainly up there, and he showed exactly why there. Phenomenal strike.

Worrying signs for City as Zabaleta pulls up on the right and looks like he will be forced off here. It looks like a hamstring strain, which would rule him out for a couple of weeks if it is indeed as bad as it appears.

MAN CITY SUB: Indeed, Zabaleta does make way to be replaced by Dedryk Boyata, who could find himself in the team for a couple of weeks to come. That is a big blow for the visitors.

Boyata makes a shaky start as he dives into a challenge but doesn't win the ball. The referee allows play to continue before going back to speak to the sub after the attack breaks down.

Man City looked like they were going to go from strength to strength after that stunning opener from Kolarov, but that injury seems to have shaken them. They are misplacing simple passes and taking unnecessary risks at the back, which is lifting the Leicester fans.

Leicester are certainly getting plenty of men forward when they do have the ball, but they really don't look like breaking through the Man City defence. The Foxes' slight glimpses of a chance so far have mostly come from Man City mistakes.

The left wing is a particularly problematic area for City at the moment. There have been about five misplaced passes in that area in the last five minutes or so, with an attack breaking down each time. Kolarov has been guilty of a couple as he can seemingly pick out the top corner from 30 yards but not a teammate from three!

YELLOW CARD! Jesus Navas becomes the first man in the book and there can be no complaints about that one. Navas gave the ball away to set up a Leicester counter attack and then cynically hauled down Dyer as he was trying to atone for his error.

Good skills from Knockaert down the left as he creates space to cross, whipping a ball in that was just too high for Nugent.

GREAT SAVE! Only a superb stop from Schmeichel denies City from doubling their advantage. It was a quick break from the visitors, with Kolarov making good ground down the left wing. He played a low cross in to Dzeko, who looks to have a simple tap in, but Schmeichel throws himself back across the goal to deny the Bosnian striker. The ball falls back out to Rodwell on the edge of the box, but he drags his shot narrowly wide. That really should have been 2-0.

As good as that save was from Schmeichel, Dzeko really should have scored. He seemed to be a bit too casual as he went to tuck the inviting cross home from just a couple of yards out, and he paid the price.

SAVE! Kolarov has an absolute wand of a left foot. The full-back controls the ball just outside the box before hammering a volley that Schmeichel can only punch over the bar. That was a very well-controlled effort from the goalscorer.

Navas swings a corner into the box that is only cleared as far as Silva on the edge. The Spaniard attempts to control his first-time volley but doesn't really catch hold of it as the effort bobbles harmlessly wide.

Strange defending from Lescott as he needlessly hoofs the ball out for a throw-in under no pressure and with Joe Hart about to come and collect it. The centre-back could see all of the Leicester players in the immediate vicinity, so I'm not quite sure what he was thinking there. Still, he gets away with it as the resulting attacking throw is cleared.

City break quickly through Navas, who holds the ball up briefly before playing it to Rodwell storming up on the left. His control is clumsy but he keeps possession before eventually curling an effort a few yards wide of the post. That was a waste of a good opportunity there.

YELLOW CARD! Boyata goes into the book for a bodycheck on Lloyd Dyer. That is quite a harsh booking as the City defender wasn't really given time to get out of the way, but the ref has decided to book him for a otting up offence after his earlier foul.

The delivery from the resulting free kick is good, but City manage to clear it out for a corner, which comes to nothing. You feel that Leicester will need to make the most of their set pieces today as they aren't creating much in open play at the moment.

Good pressure from Leicester as they catch Garcia in possession in his own half. The ball is worked out wide to Dyer, who is this time fairly seen out by Boyata for a Man City goal kick.

CLOSE! Dzeko collects a short pass from Milner and immediately moves the ball onto his left foot before curling an effort just past the post. Schmeichel was at full stretch but was getting nowhere near that one as it whistled a foot or so past the post.

City have doubled their lead, and it is a long way back for Leicester now. The hosts give the ball away in midfield and can't recover in time as Milner is slipped in down the left channel before sending a cross over to Dzeko. The delivery takes a slight deflection which makes it loop up towards the striker, who sends his header into the ground and past Schmeichel.

Leicester aren't giving up on this one just yet. Nugent flicks a cross on with a backward header that misses both the post and his teammates by a matter of yards.

SHOT! Milner looks to get his name on the scoresheet with a curling effort from around 25 yards out, but Schmeichel gets down well to parry it away. It wasn't the most powerful of shots but the Leicester keeper clearly didn't feel confident enough to try to hold on to that one.

The fourth official indicates one minute of added time as Rodwell sends a poor shot well wide.

SAVE! City almost get another with one of the last kicks of the half as a good move ends with Navas shooting from the edge of the box. The winger didn't catch hold of his shot properly, however, and in the end it was fairly comfortable for Schmeichel to collect.

The referee brings an end to the first half with Manchester City well on top, and Leicester will be grateful for the stoppage in play as the visitors were looking increasingly threatening at the end there. Manuel Pellegrini's side take a 2-0 lead into the break and they look comfortably with it. It will take a huge effort from the hosts to come back from this.

The best moment of the half was undoubtedly Kolarov's brilliant free kick to give City the lead after less than 10 minutes. The full-back curled his effort into the top corner from at least 30 yards out, giving Schmeichel no chance despite the distance. Dzeko added the second for the visitors, heading James Milner's cross into the back of the net after Leicester had given the ball away in midfield.

It wasn't all good news for the visitors, however. They lost Pablo Zabaleta to injury early in the half, with the right-back suffering what looked like a hamstring strain. Depending on the severity of the injury, City could be without him for a number of weeks, which would be a huge blow to Manuel Pellegrini's side, particularly with the continued absence of Micah Richards.

Leicester aren't completely out of this match just yet, but they won't need telling that they have a very tough task ahead of them if they are going to get back into the match. They didn't really create anything in open play during the first half, and Joe Hart has had a quiet return to the first team so far. It will be interesting to see when, or indeed if, Pearson implements his attacking changes in the second half. The next goal in this match is absolutely crucial - if Leicester get it then it is game on, but if it goes to Man City then it is surely game over.

As for Man City, I wouldn't be surprised if Manuel Pellegrini was already thinking of changes in the second half. The visitors really shouldn't lose from this position, and the injury to Zabaleta may have made Pellegrini think about protecting his main players for the remainder of the match. David Silva and Vincent Kompany in particular are two players that City could ill-afford to lose alongside the absence of Aguero.

UPDATE: It remains goalless in the other League Cup quarter-final between Sunderland and Chelsea at the Stadium of Light. Remember, you can follow that match live with us here, while I will also be keeping you up to date with any major events in that match as and when they happen.

City are the first team back out for the second half, and they are joined by Leicester shortly afterwards. Pearson no doubt had some choice words for his players in the intervals, and he has made two changes at the break, details of which are coming up.

LEICESTER SUBS: The double change for the hosts sees Knockaert and Taylor-Fletcher make way for Jamie Vardy and Matthew James.

KICKOFF: Man City get us back underway for the second half as they look to hold on to their lead and book a place in the last four.

I asked at half time when Pearson would make his move to chase the game, and the Leicester manager has done it at the break by bringing on Vardy. There was a question mark over his fitness before the game, which is why he didn't start, but Pearson evidently feels that it is now a risk worth taking.

UPDATE: The deadlock has been broken at the Stadium of Light, and it is Chelsea who have taken the lead. Frank Lampard has made it 1-0 to Jose Mourinho's men against Sunderland with a goal shortly after half time.

SAVE! Silva flicks the ball to Dzeko on the edge of the box, and the striker is allowed time to line up his shot due to an untimely slip by Miquel. Dzeko lined up his half volley and sent it towards the bottom corner, but Schmeichel got down well - not for the first time today - to make the save.

SAVE! At the other end Joe Hart is forced into his first save of the day as he denies King. Leicester had worked the ball well to give the Welshman the chance to shoot, but the final pass was slightly behind him and he had to work to dig his effort out, making it slightly easier for Hart to make the stop.

That is far too easy for City. Milner battles away on the right flank to win the ball in a dangerous position before pulling the ball back to the edge of the box from the byline. Dzeko is the only white shirt in the area but he has plenty of space to pick his spot and stroke the ball into the bottom corner, leaving Schmeichel rooted to the spot. It wasn't the cleanest finish, but Dzeko won't care at all. He is on a hat-trick.

That is now game over as a contest, but Pellegrini isn't renowned for letting his team ease up in matches. He will want more goals and, the way this one is going, he may well get them. Leicester may be well-advised to go into damage limitation mode right now.

The visitors are in complete control of this one now, and not just in terms of the scoreline. They are stroking the ball around easily and keeping possession for long periods as Leicester continue to chase shadows. It has been a tough evening for the home side.

A hint of an opening for Leicester as King takes on Boyata on the left side before delivery a hanging ball into the box. His cross is too close to the goal, but for a moment it looks like it will drift over Hart and into the far corner until the England number one reaches up to pluck it out of the air.

Another hint of an opening for Leicester as Morgan hooks a shot goalwards from a corner, only for his own teammate Miquel to divert back away from goal. Man City immediately launch a break, but Morgan gets back really well to block Navas's cross.

Silva shapes up to try a curling effort from the edge of the box, but he gets it all wrong and it trickles straight into the arms of Schmeichel. You could see what he was trying to do there but he didn't execute it anywhere near as well as he would've hoped.

I'd expect Pellegrini to make a change soon enough, most likely replacing David Silva with someone in order to protect the playmaker. City have their busy festive period coming up, and they can't afford to get many more injuries to key players.

Man City are in cruise control at the moment. They are playing the match at their own tempo and, whenever Leicester do win it back, they are in such a hurry to get upfield that it isn't long before Pellegrini's side are in possession once again.

Leicester are almost gifted a lifeline as Kompany sends a risky pass back to Hart. Dyer was on it quick as a flash, but Hart was alert enough to clear it off the toes of the Leicester attacker. Man City can't afford to lose their composure here, even if this game is as good as won.

LEICESTER SUB: The third and final Leicester change of the day sees Nugent replaced by Jeffery Schlupp. Schlupp looks like he will go up front for this match but he is usually used as a full-back for the Foxes, so that can be regarded as a defensive move from Pearson.

MAN CITY SUB: David Silva trots off after another fine display in which he controlled the match. Things don't get much easier for Leicester, however, as Nasri comes on to replace the Spaniard.

Konchesky collects the ball in space on the left side before cutting into the middle. The ground holds its breath in anticipation of a long range effort, the type that Konchesky has hit many times in his career, but it is on his weaker foot so he can only drag a poor effort into a Man City man.

Dyer skips past Garcia on the left side and the midfielder lunges in at the winger. Boyata comes across to clear the ball behind for a corner, but the referee rightly pulls it back for a free kick instead.

The free kick is met by the head of Morgan, but he can't get enough power on his header to trouble Hart, who makes a simple catch.

Nasri almost slaloms his way into the box with his impressive close control, but he is eventually crowded out and Leicester clear the danger.

Leicester have a goal back, but it is surely too little too late for the hosts. Konchesky makes good ground down the left flank before pulling the ball back to Dyer, who has far too much space in the box. He puts his laces through his shot, which takes a deflection off Kompany to divert it past Hart at his near post.

That goal has got the Leicester fans singing after being forced to listen to the noisy away support for the vast majority of the match. The Man City fans are still unlikely to be worried at this stage, but they will be annoyed at missing out on a clean sheet, as will Hart and Pellegrini.

SAVE! Kompany gives the ball away and Schlupp runs straight at the out-of-position City defence. He is stopped in his tracks by a fine tackle but the ball falls to James, whose tame shot from range was easily held by Hart.

You can see the Leicester players and fans growing with belief as an increasing number of City passes go astray. They still haven't given up on this one, and City have to be careful that they don't gift them another goal as then things would get very interesting.

I said earlier that City aren't the sort of team that eased of in matches, but they have done just that tonight. They have become increasingly sloppy since scoring their third goal, which has cost them their clean sheet and given Leicester hope in these closing stages.

Leicester have a chance to load the penalty area after a Rodwell foul gifted them a free kick. The delivery was into a dangerous area and Wasilewski chested it down inside the box, but his lay-off only found a gaggle of white shirts, who hacked the ball away.

Man City have done well to quell any potential revival from Leicester after that Dyer goal. They certainly haven't been at their best in this second half having taken their foot off the pedal, but they have done enough over the whole 90 minutes to comfortably win this match.

Milner gets on the end of an over-hit cross, cutting inside onto his right foot before slicing an effort high and wide. Cue the ironic cheers from the home support.

There will be a minimum of three minutes added time at the end of this match.

UPDATE: Huge goal at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland have equalised against Chelsea in the closing stages. Fabio Borini got the goal to make it 1-1.

Schlupp shows good pace to race away from Lescott and reach the byline. He looks up to see just one blue shirt in the area and, in his attempt to find his solitary teammate, only picks out Joe Hart.

King has one last sight of goal for the hosts in this match but he sends his shot well wide. That should be just about all for this match.

The referee blows his whistle to end the game and send Leicester tumbling out of the League Cup at the hands of Manchester City, who move comfortably into the semi-finals. In truth, the game was over as a contest the moment Edin Dzeko scored Man City's third of the evening, although Leicester did launch a mini-revival after Lloyd Dyer pulled a goal back with just over 10 minutes to play.

It is a ninth consecutive game without defeat for Man City, who end an incredible week by taking one step closer to winning the first silverware of the Manuel Pellegrini era. That is an away win over reigning European champions Bayern Munich, a 6-3 thrashing of Premier League leaders Arsenal and a spot in the semi-finals of a domestic cup competition in the space of seven days for City. Not bad for a week's work.

As for Leicester, their winless streak extends to four matches but they will have always been fearing the worst going into this game. Their league form will be much more important to them than the Capital One Cup, and Nigel Pearson will need to pick his side up from this defeat as they face Championship leaders QPR in their next match. The Foxes certainly showed signs of being able to compete with a Premier League side, but they will know that improvements are needed if they do eventually gain promotion this season.

Right, that's all we have time for this evening. Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Man City cruised into the semi-finals of the League Cup despite a spirited Leicester performance. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction and analysis of the match, which will be up in the next half an hour. There is still a quarter-final going on at the Stadium of Light, and you can follow that here as Sunderland and Chelsea have just begun extra time. From me, though, it is goodbye!