Leicester played their part in a well fought contest at the Walkers Stadium just nine days ago and earned an equally entertaining replay at Eastlands tonight.
However, any hope of a repeat performance from the Foxes was soon destroyed by Roberto Mancini's side - led by the incredible Carlos Tevez - as they blew away the visitors.
Sven Goran-Eriksson was forced to make changes to the side that faced the opposition last time out, Darius Vassell's hamstring injury gave Steve Howard a rare start. New signing Aiyegbeni Yakubu was inelegible and so Dany N'Guessan and Franck Moussa made up the squad.
Roberto Mancini took no chances and named his best starting eleven for the contest, and their attacking purpose paid dividends throughout the match with James Milner and Adam Johnson supporting Tevez in attack. David Silva and Yaya Toure were also given free roles to advance towards goal throughout.
The Foxes started the match with promise and Andy King nearly gave Leicester the lead, but his volley from Steve Howard's knock on was well saved by Joe Hart.
The away side continued to push forward and were soon caught on the break by the speed of Milner and Adam Johnson who found himself one of one with Chris Weale. But the England winger hestitated and fired a weak shot straight at the 'keeper.
It wasn't long until the home side's quality began to show though, and Carlos Tevez soon found his shooting boots.
The Argentinian picked the ball up from a quickly taken throw in. He turned past Bruno Berner before finding space to fire powerfully past Weale and into the top corner.
The goal acted as a wake up call for Leicester and they soon pulled level, albeit from a heavily disputed penalty.
Lloyd Dyer used his pace and trickery to cause problems for Joleon Lescott at the heart of the Manchester City defence, as he was crowded out he fell to the ground and the referee pointed to the spot - a hint of fortune for the endeavouring Foxes and they used it to their full advantage as Paul Gallagher converted the spot kick.
Leicester were beginning to match their Premier League opponents all over the pitch and the Foxes Faithful could sense an upset in the making.
Paul Gallagher was playing an instrumental role for Eriksson's men, and his injury midway through the first half had devastating consequnces for the visitors because after his departure, the Foxes didn't pose the same threat.
Manchester City were looking more and more dangerous and it was only a matter of time before they regained their lead. This time Patrick Viera was the beneficiary.
A James Milner cross was flicked towards goal by Tevez. Sol Bamba cleared the ball at full stretch, but only as far as Patrick Viera at the far post, and the Frenchman tucked the ball home to give Manchester City the lead.
Just as the Foxes were recovering from the shock of Viera's goal, the home side doubled their lead.
David Silva broke up a Foxes attack and played a perfectly weighted ball down the middle to Johnson, and this time the winger placed his shot past Weale and into the corner to hand Mancini's men a two goal advantage at the break.
Leicester started the second half brighter but Manchester City's pace on the counter attack, and CarlosTevez's ball control continued to cause major problems for the Foxes.
Tevez found space in the area but just as he looked to pull the trigger, he was pulled down and Rob Halsey had no option but to award the match it's second penalty. A fourth goal would have sank Leicester, but Chris Weale saved the spot kick superbly to keep the contest alive.
Mancini looked to ease the pressure midway through the second half by replacing David Silva for defensive midfielder Gareth Barry, and the home side looked to see the win out.
However, as the home side were enjoying a long period of possession, the ball struck referee Rob Halsey and Andy King suddenly stroked the ball into the feet of Lloyd Dyer, Lescott got a touch on the pass but could do nothing to stop Dyer firing low and hard past Joe Hart. The away end errupted as the dream was once again brought to life.
But, as they had done for most of the night, Manchester City's millionaires finally found that piece of quality they had been reserving for such an ocassion.
After a succession of passes around the Leicester 18 yard line, the ball fell to Kolarov. The classy full-back looked up before smashing his effort past Weale and just inside the post to give Manchester City a place in the Fourth Round where they will travel to Notts County.