Wolves vs Leicester: Foxes expert gives his take on the Carabao Cup clash

We checked in with James Sharpe, Foxes correspondent for the Leicester Mercury, to find out which players could be set to come up against Wolves this evening.

See what he had to say here...

Wolves obviously suffered defeat to Leicester in the league earlier this season, what did you make of that game?

Wolves can count themselves hugely unfortunate that they lost the game. They hit the post twice in the first few minutes, then again later on, as well as having a shot cleared off the line and then an own goal from Matt Doherty.

Had Nuno Espirto Santo called into the newsagents on the way to the ground for a lottery ticket, he would probably have ripped it up and chucked the confetti over his head.

Having said that, once City had taken the lead I thought they developed into the better side.

Wolves impressed me greatly, though, and having seen Wolves' results since that game - with no further defeats and points against Manchester United and Manchester City - I think it was a huge win for Claude Puel.

Do you think Claude Puel will have that game in his thinking for this cup clash?

I don't think so. He's more likely to have the last two fixtures on his mind: the 4-2 thumping at Bournemouth and the victory over Huddersfield.

That defeat at Bournemouth forced him into re-jigging his thinking about how he sets his team up, especially with how attacking his full-backs can be, while the win over Huddersfield saw a blossoming partnership between Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.

Puel's main focus is to find the tricky balance between giving his fringe players game-time while also trying to pick a team strong enough to reach the next round.

It's a competition in which Leicester have a proud history, winning three times.

James Maddison has obviously been a stand out performer since joining in the summer, what have you made of him, and could we see him against Wolves tomorrow?

He has been superb. The big question was always going to be how he would make the step up from being the most creative player in the Championship last season to making his mark in the Premier League.

And in the first game at Old Trafford he immediately looked like he belongs here. And, of course, he scored his first goal for the club against Wolves the following game.

He's exactly the player Puel wanted: someone who drops into space, always wants the ball, can turn in small spaces, move the play forward, pick passes and score goals. His confidence and creativity is vital to Puel's system. He's not bad at free-kicks either...

If he keeps up this level of form consistently and keeps improving, there is no reason why he cannot be that missing creative link for England too.

I doubt he will play against Wolves. Puel will be looking at giving the likes of Shinji Okazaki the chance to get some minutes. He might be on the bench, though.

What sort of team can we expect from Leicester? What's your predicted XI?

Much-changed. Puel has already admitted he will be "utlising his squad" for the contest. Don't be surprised if almost all of them alter.

The only ones I can see perhaps keeping their place are Jonny Evans, who has only started two Premier League games and could do with a run, and maybe Jamie Vardy.

His red card against Wolves means he's only started three matches this season and Puel may want to get some more match sharpness in his legs.

I think we will also see a first-team debut for Turkey international centre-back Caglar Soyunu, who signed on deadline day in a £19m move from Freibug.

Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Ward; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Fuchs; Iborra, Silva; Albrighton, Okazaki, Gray; Vardy

Are there any injury worries forcing Puel's hand for this encounter?

The only injury is to Matty James, who must be the unluckiest footballer ever. Around 18 months out with a ruptured ACL, only to suffer setback after setback.

He had surgery on his Achilles over the summer and has now had to go under the knife again.

Other than that, City are fully-fit. Wes Morgan missed the last game through suspension.

Your match prediction?

Close, but exciting. 2-2 with Leicester to win on penalties.

You can follow James on Twitter by searching for @TheSharpeEnd.