The Game
Leicester vs Argyle. King Power Stadium. Tuesday, 1 September. 7.45pm. Sky Bet League One.
The Opposition
It was a decade ago that Leicester City defied the odds and won the Premier League. Five years after that they won the FA Cup, beating current England manager Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side. Five years on from that, they now find themselves competing in League One for the first time since 2009.
Leicester’s fall from grace has been meteoric, but there is nothing to suggest that their rise back up the leagues can’t be the same. New manager Russell Martin has a Championship promotion to boot, so seems a real coup for the Foxes. As do the arrivals of Tommy Watson and Conor Chaplin from Brighton and Ipswich Town respectively. The Foxes will be hunting to achieve what they did back in 2009 – win the League One title.
The start to the season has been far from ideal, conceding late on the opening day to share the points against newly-promoted Notts County, before defeat at King Power Stadium against Burton Albion. After that, they were dumped out the Carabao Cup by Ipswich Town, although the Foxes probably put in there most impressive performance of the season in that one. On the weekend, they had to settle for a goalless draw at MK Dons. Martin's side dominated having 76% of the possession and 24 shots, but were unable to find a winning goal.
So far this season, Martin's side have dominated nearly every possession and passing metric there is, but have been sub-standard when it comes to chance creation and goal scoring. If the Foxes can find those final pieces of the puzzle, they look as though they could be unstoppable in the third tier. If they don't though, teams will know that if they can find a goal or two, there is every chance they can keep the Foxes out and win the game.
The Gaffer
Former defender Russell Martin featured on the pitch for a variety of EFL clubs, his most notable stints were with Norwich City and Wycombe Wanderers. The 40-year-old also represented his country, earning 29 caps for Scotland. He retired at MK Dons in 2019, who were then in League One, to take over as manager from Paul Tisdale.
After a largely underwhelming first part-season, Martin's side improved greatly over the summer but were unable to climb much higher up the table. It was the high-possession style of play that was catching supporters eyes, and the eyes of the higher-ups at Swansea City.
In 2021, the Welsh side appointed Martin as head coach. He would go on to spend two seasons at Swansea.com Stadium, leading them to 15th and 10th in the Championship. Again, the style of play caught the eye despite the results not being scintillating, earning Martin a move to Southampton.
Both performances and results came on the South Coast; Martin guided the Saints to promotion, winning the Championship play-off final. He only lasted four-and-a-half months in the Premier League before facing the sack.
Next came a miserable 123-day spell at Rangers; when Martin was sacked in October 2025 he became the Scottish club's shortest-serving manager ever. This summer, Martin received a fresh challenge, returning Leicester City to the heights they were at in the not so distant past.
The Squad
Wes Burns was one of Leicester's statement signings in the summer, arriving at King Power Stadium from Ipswich Town. The former Wales international began his career at Bristol City, where he was loaned out to Forest Green Rovers, Oxford United, Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town and Aberdeen. He returned to Fleetwood permanently in 2017 and went on to spend four years in Lancashire before being snapped up by Ipswich. In his five seasons at Portman Road, Burns made 164 appearances across the Championship and Premier League, scoring 30 goals.
Another of the Foxes summer signings, Connor Chaplin arrived at Leicester with plenty of higher-level pedigree. He came through Portsmouth's academy, eventually breaking into the first-team, scoring 25 goals in 122 games. He then spent a season at Coventry City before joining Barnsley. Ipswich Town came calling in 2021, paying a reported £750,000 fee for the attacker's services. Whilst with the Tractor Boys, Chaplin achieved a duo of promotions from League One to the Championship, scoring 55 goals. After a loan back at Portsmouth last season, the 29-year-old joined Leicester on a free this summer.
Commanding central-defender Harry Souttar was at Dundee United as a junior, but only made three senior appearances before being snapped up by then Premier League outfit Stoke City. The defender spent seven years at Stoke, some of it spent out on loan with Ross County and Fleetwood Town. Leicester signed Souttar in 2023, he has since featured only 22 times, having a loan spell at Sheffield United in that period. The 27-year-old has represented his nation on 42 occasions, scoring an impressive 11 goals from defence.
Previous Meeting
It was April, 2024 that the teams last faced one other. In that Sky Bet Championship clash at Home Park, Argyle ran out 1-0 winners after Mustapha Bundu netted the game's only goal in the first half, not a bad finish too. Enzo Maresca was in charge of Leicester on that day, the Italian has since gone on to have to manage Chelsea and now Manchester City.
The Strip
Argyle will be wearing their orange third kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Supporters unable to attend Argyle's Sky Bet League One fixture against Leicester City on Tuesday can follow the action live on Argyle TV.
Our hour-long pre-match show will be live on Argyle TV and YouTube from 7.15pm.
7.15pm - Charlie Price is joined by Marc Edworthy for the Pre-Match Show, bringing you all the team news, exclusive interviews, and thoughts from inside the camp.
7.45pm - Kick-off at King Power Stadium, with live commentary from Rob McNichol, who will be joined on co-commentary by Ben Tozer.
UK & Ireland Supporters
Due to EFL broadcast regulations, live video streaming is unavailable in domestic territories. However, you can listen to every Argyle game live throughout the season with an Argyle TV subscription - available for £5.50 per month or £55 for the year.
If you’re not a subscriber, you can still purchase an individual audio match pass for £2.50.
International Supporters
Live video streaming is available overseas - You can watch every Argyle game live with an Argyle TV International subscription, available for £30 per month or £200 for the year.
If you prefer, you can buy an individual video match pass for £10 per game.
Audio match passes are also available overseas for £2.50, giving you full commentary wherever you are in the world.
Click here to access Argyle TV and view our subscription and match pass options.
