Leicester City booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup courtesy of a 1-0 win over Sheffield United in their fifth-round tie at the King Power Stadium on Friday night.

Jamie Vardy scored the only goal of the match in the 66th minute as the Premier League outfit proved just too strong for their Championship visitors.

Riyad Mahrez returned to the Leicester side following his standoff with the club, while a strong XI also included Harry Maguire, Vicente Iborra and Kelechi Iheanacho.

It was Leicester that had the first chance of the match inside 10 minutes, but Vardy's strike from distance just deflected over the Sheffield United crossbar.

The Foxes continued to look the team most likely to make the breakthrough, with Vardy again coming close after smart work from Demarai Gray on the counter-attack.

Iborra then forced a save from the away side's goalkeeper Jamal Blackman as the pressure continued, but the first period finished goalless as Sheffield United rode their luck on a number of occasions.

Leicester did make the breakthrough in the 66th minute, however, when Vardy rose at the far post to head a brilliant Mahrez cross into the back of the net.

A curling effort from Gray almost doubled Leicester's advantage in the 70th minute, but the busy Blackman made another smart save as Sheffield United just about stayed in the contest.

Leicester thought that they had scored a second in the 75th minute when Vardy tapped home from close range, but Mahrez was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up.

As it transpired, George Baldock had Sheffield United's best chance of drawing level when he met a cross from David Brooks, but Kasper Schmeichel was on hand to make a smart save.

Leicester have become the first team to book their spot in the quarter-finals of this season's competition.

LEICESTER (4-4-2): Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Gray, Iborra, Ndidi, Mahrez (James 92'); Iheanacho, Vardy (Albrighton 84')

SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Blackman; Basham, Wright (Evans 76'), O'Connell; Baldock, Carruthers (Duffy 76'), Lundstram, Lafferty, Stevens; Donaldson, Wilson (Brooks 46')