Worthington Cup Quarter-Final: Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers - Peter White's big match preview

MUZZY Izzet for England! That is the message Leicester City boss Martin O'Neill has been pounding out from his animated touchline beat at Filbert Street.

And, if the midfielder with the flair for scoring outstanding goals continues to display such spectacular talents, Glenn Hoddle might be unable to ignore his claims.

Blackburn Rovers fans will certainly be hoping it is not a case of deja vu at Filbert Street tonight. For many of them will recall the 'screamer' scored by Izzet to save a point for Leicester in last season's Premiership encounter at the same venue.

And, following a goal of the season contender against Spurs a few weeks ago, Izzet produced another outrageous volley to bring Leicester back from the dead in the last round of the Worthington Cup against Leeds.

That 88th-minute volleyed equaliser sparked a remarkable comeback.

Izzet was hauled down in the 90th minute and Garry Parker stepped up to strike the winner from the penalty spot.

It was a breathless finale which simply confirmed O'Neill's thoughts about the potential of his talented midfielder.

"Izzet is a blinding player," he said.

"There are going to be games where he is going to be out of it for 10 to 15 minutes but he shows a willingness to go and play in any position.

"We had him out on the right (against Leeds) to go and take a few players on and then we played him up the middle for the last 15 minutes. "He has just got a natural talent to go and play. He is magnificent for us.

"I would have him in the England squad but I'm biased.

"He can do a little bit here and there, he's improving all the time and he is still only 24.

"Every single manager would go and tell Glenn Hoddle who he should be playing but it's up to him at the end of the day.

"Ray Clemence was at the Leeds game to see how Emile Heskey is doing but I don't think Izzet's performances have gone un-noticed."

With their makeshift midfield looking set to continue, Rovers will have to keep careful tabs on the likes of Izzet tonight.

Caretaker-boss Tony Parkes is without three strong men in Tim Sherwood, Garry Flitcroft and Billy McKinlay through suspension and injury and neither Italian Dario Marcolin nor youngster David Dunn are natural holding players in the centre of midfield.

Dunn, in particular, likes to get forward to attack. That is his greatest strength and Marcolin must be prepared to sit back in front of the defence if that is the case.

Both players started their first Premiership match for the club at Anfield on Sunday, though Marcolin has a great deal of experience in Serie A. He will no doubt have been warned about the threat from Izzet, cutting it out is another matter altogether.

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