Stephy Mavididi’s 24th minute goal has given leaders Leicester City a 1-0 half-time lead over the second-placed Blues at half-time.

Town boss Kieran McKenna made three changes from the team which lost 4-0 at Leeds on Saturday with Luke Woolfenden, Jack Taylor and Marcus Harness coming into the team for Axel Tuanzebe, Massimo Luongo and Nathan Broadhead, who all dropped to the bench.

For Leicester, Conor Coady replaced James Justin, who was among the subs alongside on-loan Manchester City defender Callum Doyle, back after three months out with a knee injury.

Town started brightly, Taylor finding Wes Burns wide on the right with a sweeping pass in the second minute and the Wales international sending a low ball across the area but too far in front of Conor Chaplin.

On five, Burns headed wide at the neat post having won the game’s first corner before Leicester began to take charge.

In the seventh minute, after the Blues had given the ball away on their left, the ball was squared to Wilfred Ndidi just to the right of the penalty spot in space but the Nigerian international completely missed his kick. It ran to Mavididi on the left but he was crowded out.

Three minutes later, Woolfenden blocked a Mavididi cross and from the resultant corner on the left, which was played short, Ndidi flicked a header over the bar.

Town threatened seriously for the first time in the 12th minute, former Leicester striker George Hirst, flicking a header across the face from a Harry Clarke cross following a corner on the right.

The Blues were getting on top and two minutes later, Burns crossed from the right to the far post where Abdul Fatawu did very well to nod out of play ahead of Leif Davis.

The subsequent corner was cleared to Taylor on the edge of the box but the former Peterborough man was unable to keep the bouncing ball down and his shot looped into the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand.

On 17, there was a big blow for Town when Hirst went to ground having overstretched as he sought to get to a Woolfenden pass and underwent treatment before making his way off with the intention of returning. But, as he ran back on, the striker very clearly pulled a hamstring and sat down before leaving the field.

Town were still down to 10 men, with Kayden Jackson preparing to come on, which he did in the 22nd minute, skipper Sam Morsy crossed from the right and Town appealed for a penalty as Coady chested back to keeper Mads Hermansen. Referee Sam Barrott had no interest in awarding a penalty for handball, which would have been very harsh.

And in the 24th minute, the Blues found themselves behind. Patson Daka played the ball wide to Mavididi in acres of space on the left with Clarke following Ndidi’s run inside. As the full-back sought to get back across, the former England U20 international smashed a powerful shot across Vaclav Hladky and into the net to give the Foxes the lead.

Having gone behind, the Blues went looking for a leveller but on 28 Leicester claimed a penalty when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall broke through the middle and went to ground under pressure from Cameron Burgess. While the Australian international had an arm on the midfielder, he also a got a toe on the ball and referee Barrott looked right to have waved away Dewsbury-Hall’s protests.

Town began to threaten again and on 33, following a corner, Harness nodded a Woolfenden looped ball down to Burgess but the centre-half misplaced his lay-back towards Taylor.

Moments later, Taylor, Chaplin and Harness all did well to get the ball to Jackson on the edge of the box but the sub’s shot was scuffed well wide under pressure.

On 36, Clarke made the challenge of the evening when he slid in to dispossess Mavididi after the forward had again been played in by Ndidi with the earlier scorer otherwise in on goal inside the box.

Two minutes later, Town again gave the ball away in their own half, as they had too many times during the first half, and this time Mavididi played in Ndidi but the advancing Hladky saved the former Genk midfielder’s effort at goal with his chest.

In the first of four additional minutes, Harness sent Davis away on the left and the full-back crossed low towards Burns breaking at the other side of the box, but Wout Faes turned it behind ahead of the Welshman.

Town kept the ball in the Leicester final third, however, with Harness and Davis causing more problems on the left and the ball almost falling to Chaplin. In the next phase of play, Harness just overhit a ball aimed at playing in Jackson.

The Blues were ending the half strongly and moments before the whistle, Chaplin’s header looped back across face and wide from a corner on the left.

While the first half had been far from the one-way traffic that saw the Blues 3-0 behind at the break at Elland Road at the weekend, the Foxes had been the better side and were deservedly in front.

Like Leeds, the Blues had been troubled throughout the opening period by the pace of Leicester’s forwards whenever they broke forward with Ndidi making runs to join them and not always picked up.

When Town were in possession, Leicester had given them little time and as a result the Blues had given the ball away too often.

However, Town had caused the visitors some danger, through Burns earlier on and Davis and Harness towards the end of the half, although with Hermansen still to be forced into a save, while the loss of Hirst, presumably for a number of weeks, is a significant blow for the Blues.

Town: Hladky, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Taylor, Burns, Chaplin, Harness, Hirst (Jackson 22). Subs: Walton, Williams, Tuanzebe, Ball, Luongo, Hutchinson, Broadhead, Ladapo. 

Leicester: Hermansen, Coady, Vestergaard, Faes, Ricardo, Winks, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Mavididi, Fatawu, Daka. Subs: Stolarczyk, Justin, Doyle, Casadei, Iheanacho, Souttar, Choudhury, Cannon, Yunus. Referee: Sam Barrott (West Riding).

Photo: Matchday Images

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