Manager Claudio Ranieri felt the display of his fringe players in Leicester’s 2-1 Capital Cup victory over West Ham proves that he has strength in depth at the club.
The Foxes’ chief opted to rest his regular stars after their superb start to the Premier League campaign and the gamble paid off as the Midlanders booked their spot in the fourth round.
They needed extra time to get past the Hammers after Joe Dodoo’s sixth-minute opener had been cancelled out by Mauro Zarate 21 minutes later.
Andy King netted the winner on 116 minutes to maintain Leicester’s unbeaten start to the season in all competitions.
Top-flight clubs do tend to give their reserve and youth players a taste of the action in the League Cup and some have been criticised for doing so, but Ranieri felt that it was the ideal opportunity to showcase the talent he has in his ranks.
“I am very pleased, we were fantastic,” he said. “We changed 10 players but they played at the same level. They’re a great group and they work very hard. I’m very happy.
“Some of the players have not been used in the Premier League but I believe in them. I told them that I want to go through the rounds and I pick you to play because I believe you can win.”
The King Power Stadium outfit have won three and drawn three of their Premier League games to sit fourth in the table and they will not fear the visit of Arsenal this weekend, with Leicester on offer at 4.20 to take all three points and the Gunners priced at 1.83.
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