Wolverhampton Wanderers got one over Leicester City when their Academy team defeated the young Foxes in the FA Youth Cup third round at the Walkers Stadium on Wednesday night.

Tomorrow, it's down to the big boys (or in the case of some of Mick McCarthy's youth-orientated team, the only slightly bigger boys) when the two sides meet at Molineux.

And, although Leicester come into the game on the back of a dreadful run, having picked up just one point in six games, McCarthy knows better than to underestimate any side, especially in the ultra competitive Championship.

"There's no team you can take lightly," he said. "You've got to be wary of them all. They've got some good players and and they're certainly better than their position suggests."

And McCarthy is warning his players to expect a backlash from Wolves old boy Rob Kelly's Foxes following last Saturday's embarrassing 4-1 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday when they also had captain Paul McCarthy sent off.

"Sometimes it can get like that," said the Wolves manager ."You feel you've almost got to the bottom of the barrel.

"You know it's going against you when someone stands up and whacks in two from 25 yards and you get a sending off too. You do everything you can and it's all conspired against you. But days like that can sometimes be a bit of a turning point when everyone has a good chat about things.

"They've got some good players, though, they shouldn't be where they are and, in Rob Kelly, they've got a man who has a good reputation in the game and did a great job last season in keeping them up. I saw him at the Youth Cup game on Wednesday night and we had a good chat."

One of the things McCarthy would no doubt have been reminding his opposite number of would be just how quickly seasons can turn at this level — Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce's rapid rise from being top of the bookies' hit list to being top of the league.

"At the start of the season, they were the favourites and nobody's surprised to see them top now," said McCarthy.

"The only surprise is because of the position they were in six weeks ago when everybody was giving it Steve and he was getting abuse from pillar to post.

"Preston, Derby, Burnley, they've all had runs. But what concerns me most maybe at the moment is the way Stoke City are going. They've now got to be looking at the play-offs.

"And more of a surprise is West Brom. After we played them, I thought their results would be better. But then it's never easy when there's been a change of manager.

"Maybe what has also been a surprise is that I didn't think I'd be up competing with the likes of those. But we've proved we can compete with everyone. Then it's a just a question of whether you can keep clean sheets and whether you've got goals in you — and whether you can you it over 46 games.

"It's all about consistency and who can put the run together.

"Last season was an exception when Reading romped it and never looked like being caught. But every other season is really close. It's always very competitive, this league, and it's no wonder given the big, big prize that there is to get out it."

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