Leicester City will do it all over again with East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest at King Power Stadium a week on Wednesday, after a full-blooded but goalless third round tie in the FA Cup with Budweiser.
Nearly 8,000 members of the Blue Army packed the away end at Forest's City Ground, but their dominant side were unable to find a breakthrough against the Reds, who hung on for long periods of a second half dictated by Nigel Pearson's visitors.
On another day, one of the several golden chances they created might have been converted, with Paul Gallagher, David Nugent and substitute Lloyd Dyer all going agonisingly close to a winner.
They will hope that day will be in the replay in 11 days' time, where these two rivals will try to find a winner for the third time this season.
Having spoken so fondly of the FA Cup in the build-up to the game, Pearson's sentiment towards the competition was apparent in his team selection, with three changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace on Monday - two of them enforced.
Switching back to a 4-3-3 formation, Paul Konchesky and Lee Peltier were back in the defence, while Gallagher added some guile to the front line.
But Pearson's plans were dealt a blow just three minutes in when Schlupp came off worse in a heavy challenge with Forest's Jonathan Greening and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Jermaine Beckford replaced him, but the setback seemed to tame the visitors a little, despite a bumper away following of nearly 8,000 fans. The hosts sought to make the most of it.
Kasper Schmeichel, sent off on this ground in the league meeting back in August, came to the Foxes' rescue on ten minutes, saving at point-blank range as Lewis McGugan tried to finish Chris Gunter's deep cross, before Matt Mills threw himself brilliantly in the way of Andy Reid's follow-up.
Schmeichel was called upon again three minutes later - coming out on top in a one-on-one with Reid after the Irishman had nipped in to pass Aleksandar Tunchev.
But slowly the visitors started to settle - Mills marshalling the back four with leadership and Andy King doing an excellent, if unfamiliar screening job in front of the back four.
They fashioned their first chance of note on 23 minutes - Nugent climbing to meet a Gallagher free-kick just as he had on New Year's Eve against Portsmouth, but this time directing his header against the face of the crossbar.
The game was tight, scrappy at times, but never short on commitment. It meant chances were scarce and Forest stopper Lee Camp's first save was from his own defender - Kieron Freeman almost beating his own keeper with a loose header after some industrious work in the box from Beckford.
Reid produced a swirling cross that nearly deceived Schmeichel six minutes before the break, but it was City that would go closest before the break. King launched a clearance up-field that Reds captain Luke Chambers failed to deal with and Nugent, nipping in to capitalise, lifted his lob over Camp but past the post.
The Foxes took that momentum into the second half and started to look the far more dangerous force - defending resolutely and breaking with purpose with numbers.
Gallagher should have put them in front on 56 minutes but, set free in the box by the breaking Yuki Abe, drove his shot over the bar and into the sea of Leicester fans behind the goal.
Eager to make up for it, the City forward set his sights from greater range on the hour-mark, but hit the side-netting despite the near-celebrations of those in blue trying to suck the ball in.
Unable to get a foothold, Forest tried to increase the physical intensity, but City just kept coming - the determined Danns escaping into space down the right before his cross slipped through a crowd of bodies. Konchesky rifled the loose ball just wide via a deflection and Mills headed straight at Camp from the resulting corner.
Only one winner looked likely as Forest failed to retain possession and City continued to create. Beckford's hard work down the left was nearly rewarded on 78 minutes, but his exchange with Dyer ended with a shot blazed over the bar.
Forest's defences were creaking and they should have been cracked nine minutes from time when more enthusiastic running from Danns ended with a superb cross from the right, Nugent's header brought a save from Camp and Dyer somehow smashed the rebound over.
Forest: (4-4-1-1): Camp; Gunter, Chambers (c), Lynch, Freeman; McCleary (Anderson 82), Greening, Moussi, McGugan; Reid (Harewood 66); Tudgay (Blackstock 78).
Unused subs: Boateng, Derbyshire, Smith, Makewski.
City (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Peltier, Mills (c), Tunchev, Konchesky; King, Abe (Wellens 60), Danns; Gallagher (Dyer 60), Nugent, Schlupp (Beckford 5).
Unused subs: Moussa, Weale, Kennedy, Taft.
Booked: Danns, Mills
Attendance: 18,477 (7,848 away)
Referee:Geoff Eltringham (Tyne & Wear)