2. Leicester City
Leicester were one of the favorites to go down at the start of the season and their current position validate those early claims. They are dead last in the league, seven points from safety and four points off nineteenth place. The reason they aren’t dead last on my list is the fact they have a friendlier run of fixtures than Burnley.
The early part of the season gave us the impression that they were the fittest team in the league as they came from behind to claim big results in the latter stages of matches. One memory they will take with them down to the championship is coming from behind to beat Manchester United 5-3 in a dramatic game at home. However as the season progressed it became apparent that they weren’t able to last the pace. They are all but certain to go down, but I think they will get a late run together and they won’t finish dead last.
Things that are going against Leicester:
1- They have lost five out of their last six games. They have only won two of their last ten, losing a total of six.
2- They concede goals for fun. In the last 10 league games they have conceded 14 goals, a ratio that will all but certainly send them down. If they don’t sure up their defense it won’t be long before the are confirmed as a condemned team.
3- They play relegation rivals Sunderland and QPR at the end of the season, unfortunetly the three games leading up to those fixtures are against Chelsea, Newcastle and Southampton. Those three fixtures are anything but easy, so Leicester could already be mathematically doomed before they go up against their rivals.
Leicester’s remaining fixtures:
Hull, Tottenham, West Ham, West Brom, Swansea, Burnley, Chelsea, Newcastle, Southampton, Sunderland and QPR.
I’m not giving Leicester much of a chance of getting out of their predicament. Even if they somehow climb up the table and close down the deficit in the next few games, they have three extremely tough games towards the end that they won’t win. Even if they defy logic and beat Chelsea, Newcastle and Southampton (HA) they will still need to beat relegation rivals Sunderland and QPR…I think it’s safe to say Leicester will be playing championship football next season.
Next: No.1: Burnley