Leicester City In Relegation Danger After Manchester United Debacle
By Ty Duffy
Leicester City won the Premier League title last season in one of organized sport’s greatest ever upsets. This season has been one long regression to the mean. The club is in grave danger of being relegated. Claudio Ranieri may not make it to the end of the season.
The Foxes lost 3-0 to Manchester United at home Sunday. That defeat leaves Leicester City in 16th place on 21 points, just one point above the relegation zone with 14 matches to play.
A real problem for Leicester City has been away form. The Foxes have just three points and zero wins from 12 matches (-17 goal difference) away from the King Power Stadium.
Leicester City’s run through the end of March will be critical. The Foxes have two relegation six-pointers in the next three matches, at Swansea and at home vs. Hull. Sandwiched between is a home match against Liverpool. Following that are road trips to Arsenal and to West Ham. A bad run through those games would drop them into the relegation zone.
Additional competitions will compound the difficulty. Leicester City have at least two Champions League matches with a Round of 16 pairing against Sevilla. They also remain in the FA Cup with a midweek replay against Derby at home.
It’s not yet clear where Leicester City will finish. But, what is clear is that midfielder N’Golo Kanté’s transfer to league leaders Chelsea was the most important signing of the season, both positively and negatively.