SM
Thursday, November 7
Upcoming predictions and previews

In Focus: How have Leicester done so well this season?

:Headline: In Focus: How have Leicester done so well this season?: ID:378797: from db_amp
The Foxes are eight points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League.

Leicester are second in the Premier League and in the title race for the first time since they won a shock crown in 2016.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what has gone right for the Foxes this season.

Brendan Rodgers' influence

It is not yet Rodgers' team, which has made his work all the more impressive. Having taken the reins in late February, the Northern Irishman inherited a squad frustrated with Claude Puel's tactics and sitting 12th after losing 4-1 at home to Crystal Palace. Of the regular line-up only Ayoze Perez, who joined from Newcastle for £30million, has been a true Rodgers buy given Youri Tielemans had already been on loan at the club before Rodgers' arrival. If there was anything to prove following the disappointing end to his Liverpool tenure, Rodgers has done it.

Jamie Vardy's golden touch

Jamie Vardy is also the Premier League's 11-goal top scorer (PA Graphics)

The striker has been in red-hot form since Rodgers took over, scoring 20 times in 23 matches under the former Celtic boss. His strike-rate is better under Rodgers than any previous Leicester manager, including Claudio Ranieri. Vardy, who called time on his England career in August 2018, turns 33 in January and shows no signs of slowing down.

Big guns struggling

Vardy inspired a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday (Nick Potts/PA)

Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal have failed to live up to expectations this term. Leicester dispatched the Gunners 2-0 with minimum fuss on Saturday – Vardy scoring his ninth goal in nine starts against them. United and Tottenham are 10 and 12 points behind, respectively, and show no signs of catching up. It was a similar story in 2015-16 when the Foxes won the title by 10 points – and defending champions Chelsea finished 10th.

Recruitment

Islam Slimani was Leicester's record signing when he joined for £29million but flopped (Mike Egerton/PA)

Leicester's recruitment was poor in the immediate aftermath of their title win, even taking into account Wilfred Ndidi's 2017 arrival. Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa and Nampalys Mendy joined in 2016 for a combined £57million but flopped. Vicente Iborra, Kelechi Iheanacho and Adrien Silva – who missed the registration deadline by 14 seconds and was forced to sit on the sidelines for months – signed a year later but none made an impact, with only Iheanacho still at the club and barely playing. But the arrival of James Maddison, Tielemans, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu have proved the club are getting it right again.

Style and substance

Caglar Soyuncu has impressed after replacing Harry Maguire this season (Nick Potts/PA)

The Foxes are strong across the board. They have had 8,883 touches and have made 6,348 passes – both the fourth highest behind Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool. The Foxes also back up their style with substance. They are the second highest scorers with 29, behind City's 35, and have kept five clean sheets, joint top with City and Sheffield United – despite selling £80million centre-back Harry Maguire to Manchester United in the summer.

amp_article__378797 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-11-13 10:36:31:
html db last update - 2019-11-13 10:36:31 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .