Leicester City will take on Burton Albion in a pre-season clash on Saturday afternoon, but there will be a competitive edge to the match, as the two sides will compete for the Bass Charity Vase.
Indeed, if the contest finishes level after 90 minutes there will be a penalty shootout, with the two teams competing for one of the oldest and most valuable trophies in English football.
Match preview
© Reuters
Burton finished 16th in League One last season and will therefore again play in the third tier of English football next term, with their campaign due to begin away to Shrewsbury Town on August 7.
The League One club have had a busy pre-season thus far, beating Nuneaton Borough and Bognor Regis Town in the early stages of July before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Scunthorpe United on Tuesday.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's side have been extremely busy this summer in terms of signings, meanwhile, with Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Frazer Blake-Tracy and Bryn Morris among those to arrive on free transfers.
A number of players have also left the club since the end of last season, meaning that there will be a new look to the starting XI that takes to the field on a regular basis in 2021-22.
Burton, who have been beaten in four of their five matches with Leicester, lost 5-2 to Derby County in the 2019 Bass Charity Vase, but there was no fixture last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
© Reuters
Leicester, meanwhile, are now building towards the Community Shield on August 7, with the FA Cup winners set to take on Premier League champions Manchester City for the trophy.
The Foxes will open their 2021-22 Premier League campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14, meanwhile, so the next four friendlies will be crucial in terms of preparation.
Brendan Rodgers's side will face Wycombe Wanderers in their next friendly after this one on July 28 before ending the month with a clash against Queens Park Rangers.
Leicester are then due to take on Villarreal in their final pre-season match on August 4, and it will be fascinating to see whether any more new signings arrive at the King Power Stadium in the coming weeks.
Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand have arrived to boost the squad, while Matty James, Christian Fuchs and Wes Morgan have moved on ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
- W
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Burton boss Hasselbaink made full use of his squad in the 2-1 defeat to Scunthorpe last time out, and the same squad is set to be available for this weekend's contest.
Jonny Smith scored his side's only goal on Tuesday and should start once again, while there could be a start for former Manchester United youngster Borthwick-Jackson at the back.
As for Leicester, Daka and Soumare will not be available to make their debuts, but Harvey Barnes, Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu should all be involved.
Like Hasselbaink, Rodgers will make full use of his squad, with a number of youngsters also set to receive opportunities, having been involved in pre-season training.
There is every chance that the Foxes manager could select two different XIs for each half, and it will be comfortably Burton's toughest test of pre-season, with Jamie Vardy and James Maddison among those in line to take to the field on Saturday afternoon.
Head To Head
These two sides have locked horns on five previous occasions, and it is Leicester that lead the head-to-head record, recording four wins to Burton's one.
All five of their meetings have come in the FA Cup or League Cup, with Leicester recording a 3-1 victory in the League Cup in October 2019 when they last went to battle.
Burton's only win over Leicester came back in 2012, with the Foxes, who had Kasper Schmeichel between the sticks, suffering a 4-2 defeat in the second round of the League Cup at the King Power Stadium.
We say: Burton Albion 1-3 Leicester City
Burton are ahead of Leicester in terms of their preparations for the new season, but it is difficult to look past the Foxes considering the strength of their squad, so we are backing an away victory here.
Matt Law
