O'Neil expecting 'really tough game' against Leicester

Ipswich Town manager Gary O'Neil believes Leicester City will be "coming here to leave some marks on us" when the two sides meet at Portman Road in the Carabao Cup second round on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

The two teams had very different fates in the Championship last season, with the Tractor Boys claiming promotion and the Foxes suffering relegation.

"The gap is a lot closer than it looks," O'Neil said. "We were both in the same division last year and we played each other twice, so we are familiar with each other.

"Leicester City also have a Premier League coach in Russell Martin, who has been in the top flight with Southampton and plays a good style of football.

"It will be a really tough game for us, especially coming off the back of something as high as this win over Sunderland.

"We need to make sure we reset and we are down to earth. Leicester City won't care that have beaten Sunderland, they will be coming here to leave some marks on us and we need to be ready for that.

"It is an important game for us. I just want to keep winning. This is a strong group and I feel we are in a good place.

"We have added to the squad a lot, of course, so there will be an ability to rotate. We will pick a team we think can win. We will try to freshen things up a bit, though, because we have a big week ahead and some of the lads weren't 100% already."

On long-serving duo Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin returning to Portman Road after making permanent moves to King Power Stadium this summer, O'Neil said: "It is a great draw for them and the guys that know them.

"We were obviously planning to keep Wes Burns but when he got the offer that he did and he was interested in it, we didn't want to stand in his way as such a servant to this football club.

"It will be good for the fans to welcome those guys back, as I'm sure they will."