Carabao Cup: Leicester City beat Southampton on penalties

Mendy (centre) spent last season on loan at former club Nice

Leicester beat Southampton 6-5 on penalties to set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester City.

After both sides scored their first five, Manolo Gabbiadini's spot-kick was saved by Danny Ward. Nampalys Mendy duly converted to clinch victory.

The visitors had had the better of the second half, hitting the woodwork through Nathan Redmond and Gabbiadini.

Southampton's Steven Davis also had a goal ruled out via the video assistant referee after Redmond's handball.

Leicester's meeting with Manchester City will take place on 18 December.

Signs of hope in defeat for Saints?

Hughes is under pressure after winning just three of his 21 Premier League games in charge of Southampton

After a deflating weekend defeat by Fulham sent the visitors into the Premier League relegation zone, there has been fresh speculation over the future of Southampton manager Mark Hughes.

The Welshman picked a strong line-up for this match and, in turn, they delivered a performance, if not victory.

After a first half that lacked rhythm or pace, the Saints created the clearer chances in the second half.

None was better than the one that Michael Obafemi missed. The 18-year-old striker, making his first Southampton start, contrived to slice wide from close range under little pressure.

Before missing the crucial penalty, Gabbiadini was very nearly the match-winner. The Italian's injury-time free-kick seemed destined for the back of the net, only to be diverted onto the woodwork by a sprawling Ward.

Hughes will hope to take some of that attacking purpose into the Premier League meeting with his former club Manchester United on Saturday.

Leicester strength in depth pays

Thirty-three-year-old Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha is set to take control of the Foxes

Hughes' Leicester counterpart Claude Puel reached the League Cup final with Southampton in 2017 and said before the match that he wanted to go one better with the Foxes to honour former chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

This match had been postponed after originally being scheduled for the Tuesday after the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Srivaddhanaprabha and four others on 27 October.

Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha, who is likely to succeed his father as chairman, was in the King Power stands and the 33-year-old will have seen the benefits of his family's investment as expensively recruited fringe performers such Adrien Silva and Kelechi Iheanacho had enough to advance.