Huddersfield Town vs Leicester City: Team News, Preview, Where to Watch EFL Cup Clash Live

Huddersfield Town will host Leicester City in the first round of the 2025/2026 EFL Cup at John Smith's Stadium on August 13, 2025, with kickoff scheduled for 21:45pm.

This cup tie pits League One Huddersfield against Championship side Leicester City in what promises to be an intriguing knockout fixture.

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The Terriers will be looking to cause an upset against the Foxes, who have historically had the upper hand in meetings between these two sides.

The EFL Cup first round is already underway with several matches completed on August 12, including some notable results such as Doncaster's surprising 4:0 victory over Middlesbrough and Plymouth's narrow 3:2 win against Queens Park Rangers.

This knockout competition provides an opportunity for lower-league sides to test themselves against higher-division opposition, with Huddersfield hoping to join the ranks of giant-killers.

Leicester, meanwhile, will be aiming to avoid becoming another Championship casualty in a tournament that has already seen several upsets in the opening round.

Sean Roughan came off the bench against Reading, having been forced off inside the first half-hour of Huddersfield’s league opener. The hosts have few injury worries, with only Marcus Harness remaining a doubt.

Summer arrivals Marcus McGuane, Leo Castledine, and Murray Wallace have yet to make an appearance, but could get some minutes in midweek. Leicester, meanwhile, continue to downsize their squad amid ongoing financial issues, with Wilfred Ndidi, former England defender Conor Coady, and first-choice goalkeeper Mads Hermansen all recently departing.

In Hermansen’s absence, Jakub Stolarczyk started on Saturday, though veteran keeper Asmir Begovic may make his club debut in the cup. Full-backs Ricardo Pereira and Victor Kristiansen remain sidelined through injury, joining Bobby De Cordova-Reid and long-term absentee Harry Souttar on the treatment table.

Both teams enter this cup tie in impressive form. Huddersfield Town have won their opening two League One fixtures, securing a 3:0 home victory against Leyton Orient (on 02.08.2025) and following it up with an away win at Reading (2:0 on 09.08.2025).

Their pre-season was less convincing with a 0:2 defeat to Burnley (on 26.07.2025) and a 1:1 draw against Young Boys (on 16.07.2025). Leicester City have also started their season strongly, winning their Championship opener 2:1 against Sheffield Wednesday (on 10.08.2025).

The Foxes enjoyed a productive pre-season, defeating Fiorentina 2:0 (on 03.08.2025) and recording victories against Karpaty (2:1 on 25.07.2025) and Zalaegerszeg (1:0 on 19.07.2025), with their only setback being a 3:1 loss to FC Cologne (on 25.07.2025).

Leicester City have dominated the recent meetings between these teams, winning all five of their last encounters. Their most recent clash came in the Championship on January 1, 2024, when Leicester secured a comprehensive 4:1 victory at the King Power Stadium with Thomas Cannon scoring twice (40' and 61'), while Ricardo Pereira (47') and Stephy Mavididi (77') also found the net, with Michal Helik (63') scoring Huddersfield's consolation.

The Foxes also won 1:0 at John Smith's Stadium earlier that season with Mavididi scoring the decisive goal (73'). Their Premier League encounters were similarly one-sided, with Leicester winning 3:1 and 3:0 at home in 2018, and securing a 4:1 away victory in April 2019 when Jamie Vardy scored twice.

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports+. Sky Sports can be added to any Sky TV package for £22 per month, giving access to all nine sports channels. Alternatively, you can get the full sports bundle plus Netflix for £43 per month. Sky Sports+ is included with Sky Sports packages and will broadcast more than 1,000 EFL matches over the course of the season.