Five changes to the starting line-up contributed to a poor performance and a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield in the FA Cup 4th Round this afternoon. Vardy, Waghorn, Dyer, King and Wellens all came in with Nugent and Wood, who have 30 goals between them already this season, dropped to the bench. Only one of the changes, a replacement for the injured Knockaert, was enforced. The net result is that a replay will take place at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday 12th February at 7:45pm. This means that the crucial trip to Cardiff will have to be re-arranged for a second time. Blackburn's trip to the King Power Stadium scheduled for 16th February will also have to be moved as Rovers progressed to the 5th Round today.
The fixtures are beginning to pile up and if City progress to the 5th Round, they will be playing a minimum of 6 fixtures in February, the shortest month of the year. As Nigel Pearson said in his post-match interview, a draw was "not an ideal scenario for us." Interestingly, of Leicester's 11 home league fixtures in 2013, only a maximum of 3 will have taken place at 3pm on a Saturday. This is partly due to the Cup run but also Sky's decision to televise Leicester's last league game on a Friday night and their next on Thursday night. Wolves travel to the King Power Stadium for that next fixture on the 31st. Completing January's fixtures unbeaten would certainly give the Foxes hope of negotiating a busy February in equally successful fashion.
For the record, Lee Novak gave Huddersfield the lead from the penalty spot today after 74 minutes. Lloyd Dyer was the guilty party on this occasion, upending Jack Hunt in the penalty area. Chris Wood equalised with his 7th goal in 5 games for the Foxes, slotting home De Laet's cross in the 82nd minute. Not a classic game on a difficult surface and while a replay is not ideal, at least City are in the hat for the 5th Round draw tomorrow afternoon.
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