Stockport County host Leicester City at Edgeley Park on 12 September 2026 in a League One fixture that puts a promotion chasing side against a club still adjusting to life after back to back relegations. Stockport sit third after five games, Leicester are down in 18th.
Jim McNulty and Russell Martin haven't faced each other before in their current roles, with McNulty having taken charge on 5 June 2026 to replace Dave Challinor while Martin arrived on 15 June to replace Gary Rowett, so neither man has any read on the other yet.
Stockport's recent run has two distinct faces. The 4-0 win over Wigan on 5 September was impressive but came after a 2-0 defeat at Luton three days earlier and while the 5-1 home hammering of Wycombe on 29 August showed how ruthless they can be at Edgeley Park, a loss at Blackpool the week before showed they're not the same side when they leave it, unable to replicate that sharpness away from home.
Leicester's form is harder to spin positively. They were thumped 4-0 at Oxford on 5 September, which will dominate the conversation going into this one. They had beaten Plymouth 2-0 on 1 September but before that it was a 0-0 draw with MK Dons, a 3-1 Carabao Cup exit at Ipswich and a 2-1 loss at Burton. That Oxford result showed a defence that gave the hosts space in behind and switched off at set pieces, exactly the kind of gaps Wootton is built to exploit.
Both squads are fully fit, with McNulty able to pick from the same settled group that has scored 13 league goals in five games, while Martin looks at integrating deadline day signing John Lundstram and deciding how prominent a role Conor Chaplin plays in attack.
Stockport play out from the back in a 4-4-2 that stretches into something closer to a 3-2-5 in possession, creating midfield overloads and pressing aggressively to win the ball back high up the pitch, with those 5-1 and 4-0 home wins the product of that approach at its best. Leicester under Martin are also a possession team but their game is built on patient circulation rather than pressing intensity and Oxford showed what happens when that patient build-up meets a side that won't give them time: the visitors were through on goal repeatedly in the first half and never looked like fixing it.
Kyle Wootton leads the line, with Jack Diamond and Harry Wood contributing three goals each this season alongside him. Oliver Norwood is Stockport's key midfield operator, the man who keeps the ball moving when they're in control, while for Leicester, Harry Souttar needs to handle Wootton at the back, Conor Chaplin carries the main creative burden in attack and Lundstram's potential debut gives the midfield someone who won't be bullied off the ball after they were all at sea at Oxford. The battle between Norwood and Lundstram in the centre of the pitch could define how well either side moves the ball. Stockport will press high, force Leicester into hurried decisions and look to win the ball in areas where Wootton and Diamond can punish them quickly, whereas Leicester will try to slow things down and find Chaplin in the pockets between the lines.
The clubs haven't met competitively since the 2008-09 season, with Leicester having the better of those old encounters, though given how much has changed for both clubs since then, those results tell you little about what happens on Saturday.
Stockport have already scored from set pieces this season and if Leicester's defence is still shaky from corners and free kicks as it was at Oxford, that becomes a real avenue for the home side. Stockport are collecting points at a rate that has them near the automatic promotion places, Leicester need a reaction after that Oxford embarrassment.
Stockport 2-1 Leicester City. The Foxes remain susceptible to a high press even with Lundstram available and Stockport at home are a side that has scored 13 league goals in five games. The scoreline probably won't flatter the hosts the way their home form might suggest but it should be enough.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
