The Foxes squandered enough early chances that if converted would have seen East Midlands rivals Derby County dead and buried long before the half-time whistle.
City threatened as early as the second minute when Joey Gudjonsson drilled in a shot from 20 yards which the diving Lee Camp turned aside for a corner which came to nothing.
The home side almost took a controversial lead when the busy Iain Hume ran on to a, Alan Maybury through ball to find himself one-on-one with the keeper. The former Tranmere hitman should have been celebrating a goal, but instead sidefooted wide with the Derby defenders demanding an offside flag which never came.
Camp was then quickly off his line to foil Matt Fryatt as the Foxes continued to do all the running.
Momo Sylla attempted to curl the ball around Camp, but his effort was comfortably saved by the Derby keeper, who was in the thick of the action again this time foiling the onrushing Fryatt.
City were to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal when the Rams took the lead with their first serious attack, which didn't arrive until the 24th minute. Danny Graham laid the ball back to Mounir El Hamdaoui to rifle home a terrific strike from 20 yards.
But Derby's delight was brief with Leicester levelling on 27 minutes when Maybury played in Hume, whose clever footwork took him clear of Darren Moore before clipping the ball beyond Camp from 14 yards.
The County keeper came to his side's rescue on 36 minutes, this time with an acrobatic save to keep out Fryatt's snapshot.
But on 44 minutes the visitors almost regained an undeserved lead when Marc Edworthy let fly with a spectacular 35-yard shot with cannoned of the bar to safety.
Leicester restarted with the injured Rab Douglas replaced by Paul Henderson.
City were in front on 54 minutes when from Hume's flick-on, Gudjonsson guided the ball on to Maybury who drove powerfully under a diving Camp from ten yards.
But the home fans' joy lasted just two minutes. Morten Bisgaard's corner was nodded down by Tomasz Hajto, with Richard Stearman turning the ball into his own net while attempting to clear.
Gudjonsson's 22-yard free-kick sailed just over the bar before the excellent Camp spread himself to block Stephen Hughes' close-range shot.
On 79 minutes Stearman attempted to atone for his own goal blunder when he unleashed a 20-yard drive, but Camp had it well covered.
And Hume almost snatched it for City as the game drifted into stoppage time when he ghosted beyond Moore before unleashing a drive which Camp beat away for a corner which failed to pay dividends.