Leicester City produced a superb team performance to see off Swansea City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium and climb off the bottom of the table for the first time since November.
The Foxes got off to a flying start, and they were duly rewarded when Leonardo Ulloa - a late replacement in the starting lineup for the injured David Nugent - tucked home with 15 minutes on the clock.
Swansea created chances of their own, the best of which fell to Nelson Oliveira in the second half, but it was the home side who sealed all three points late on thanks to Andy King's close-range finish.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded in the East Midlands with our live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Leicester City and Swansea City at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes have given themselves real hope of surviving the drop in recent weeks, winning back-to-back games to claw within three points of safety. This afternoon's visitors, on the other hand, have not left the top half of the table all season, and they require just a single point to surpass their previous record tally for a Premier League campaign.
Kickoff in the East Midlands is now less than an hour away, so let's get straight into things by taking a look at some team news.
TEAM NEWS!
LEICESTER CITY STARTING XI: Schmeichel; Wasilewski, Huth, Morgan; Albrighton, King, Cambiasso, Schlupp; Nugent, Vardy, Kramaric
SWANSEA CITY STARTING XI: Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Amat; Cork, Ki, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Oliveira
Let's start by taking a look at the visiting side, then, and there is news of two changes to bring you. Jordi Amat comes in for the suspended Neil Taylor at full-back, while Nelson Oliveira has been selected to lead the line in place of Bafetimbi Gomis. The Frenchman is expected to miss the next three weeks, so this is a big chance for Benfica loanee Oliveira to stake his claim for a permanent switch to the Premier League.
Oliveira has been nursing an ankle injury of his own, incidentally, but he has been deemed fit enough to start in attack for just the second time since linking up with the Swans back in January. Bar the absence of Taylor at left-back, the Welsh outfit remain as you were in terms of the other defensive and midfield options.
In terms of the home side, well Nigel Pearson has certainly named an attacking-looking lineup for this huge game. David Nugent, Jamie Vardy and Andrej Kramaric all start at the King Power Stadium. Further back, Andy King and Marcin Wasilewski are both integrated into the starting lineup, as the Foxes opt to make three changes from last time out.
Marc Albrighton and Esteban Cambiasso complete the midfield options, with Jeffrey Schlupp likely to play in a wing-back position once more. His understanding with Vardy down that flank has proved to be the key to Leicester's recent resurgence, but will the Swans be able to halt their opponents this afternoon?
BENCH WATCH!
LEICESTER CITY SUBS: De Laet, Konchesky, Drinkwater, James, Ulloa, Mahrez, Schwarzer
SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Tremmel, Bartley, Britton, Grimes, Montero, Dyer, Emnes
Ritchie De Laet, Matty James and Leonardo Ulloa are the men to make way from the starting lineup for the Foxes, with all three having to make do with a place among the substitutes. Danny Drinkwater offers a further option in midfield should he be called upon, while Villarreal-target Riyad Mahrez can also cause a real threat from the bench.
As expected Gomis misses out of the visiting side's squad completely due to the injury he picked up last week. Jefferson Montero and Nathan Dyer, two wingers who can provide plenty of width, are both among the matchday 18 for the Swans, as is Marvin Emnes who has been overlooked this afternoon.
This is not a ground where the Swans have had too much luck in recent times (more on that a little later...)
Well Leicester head into this game on the back of successive victories for the first time since gaining promotion last season, and for the first time since the opening months of the campaign, Nigel Pearson's side appear to have a realistic hope of surviving the drop this term. They have always appeared to be a couple of wins away from troubling the teams above them, but a victory this afternoon by a three-goal margin will see them potentially claw their way into 17th place.
Goal difference won't be on the mind of Pearson this afternoon, of course, because he will simply be focused on picking up victory by whatever means possible. Those recent wins over West Ham United and more recently West Bromwich Albion, combined with the near-defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, show that the Foxes have plenty of fight left in them. They have a decent looking fixture list, too, with three games against sides around them still to come. It is very much in their hands at this stage, despite the precarious position.
Those huge fixtures against fellow strugglers Sunderland, Burnley and Queens Park Rangers will go a long way to decided Leicester's fate, but they really must target three points against a Swans side marooned in mid-table this afternoon. Five teams are in immediate danger of facing the drop at this stage - Leicester, Burnley, QPR, Hull City and Sunderland - while Aston Villa and Newcastle United are still not yet officially safe.
That goes to show just how tight things remain, with just a handful of games left to play. Anything less than a victory here today will be hugely disappointing for the Foxes, though, particularly when taking their recent form into question. If Pearson's men are to overcome Swansea, then they will have to improve of a rather dismal defensive record, which has seen them concede more goals than any other side in the top flight this term.
That said, the Eats Midlanders have certainly improved drastically in that department in recent weeks - on their home turf at least - conceding just three goals in their last five outings at the King Power Stadium. In term of their scoring record up the other end of the field, it is now eight goals in their last three games overall - a stark contrast compared to this time last month.
It will certainly be no easy task for the home side this afternoon, however, as they come up against a Swans side who themselves are in decent form of late. They may have dropped points against one of their bogey teams in Everton last time out, but back-to-back wins preceded that home draw to cement their eighth-place position in the top half of the table.
In all, it has been a mightily impressive season for Garry Monk's men, who have found themselves in the top half of the table since the opening weekend. It is little wonder that the rookie boss has been linked with the West Ham United job this week, but he looks certain to remain in place at the Liberty Stadium for the long-term. Just one more point is needed to make this Swansea's best ever campaign in the Premier League in terms of points gained, and you would not bet against them reaching that mark today.
The Welsh club have looked good on the road this term overall, picking up five wins and three draws from their 15 games. Their remaining fixtures also look decent, with plenty of mid-table teams still to play, alongside big-boys Arsenal and Manchester City. A top-half finish is almost secure, so now the aim is surely to topple Tottenham Hotspur who are seven points ahead but seemingly dropping away by the week.
TEAM NEWS UPDATE! Ulloa was one of three men to drop out of the starting lineup, but an injury to Nugent sees him added to the squad:
DID YOU KNOW? Leicester have not won three games in a row in the Premier League since September 2000. They come up against a Swansea side this afternoon who have scored in nine out of their last 10 away games, although they have kept just three clean sheets in their last 14 outings.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: This is a fixture that the Foxes tend to do well in if recent history is anything to go by. Swansea have not won on their last 10 visits to this part of the world, last claiming three points at Leicester back in 1980. Pearson's charges have in fact won the last seven meetings between the pair in all competitions at this venue.
There is still enough time to check out the views from both camps ahead of this crucial game:
Kasper Schmeichel: "Maybe it's different to the outside world, but we have no doubt in our dressing room that we have the characters and players to get us out of this situation. We haven't done it all season on the pitch, but we have done in the last two games. We are not getting carried away with ourselves, we need to remain focused and keep going.
"It is all about being in control of your emotions. You have got to play with emotion, but controlled emotion. We stressed that before the game. We cannot get carried away. We are buzzing about the game but it is now back to hard work."
Garry Monk: "Getting level with the points total is great, but I want to beat it. It was a target we talked about at the start of the season. We've progressed throughout the season, and we now have six games to surpass our best ever total.
"A lot of people will say Leicester have more to fight for than us, but we've got our own targets to fight for. We want to finish strongly."
PREDICTION: The onus is very much on the home side this afternoon, then, but I believe that will work massively in their favour. Monk is adamant that his team are not already eyeing up their summer break, and will battle away for every point between now and the end of the season in order to make this an historic campaign. Yet Leicester have shown in recent weeks that when you have nothing to lose you are often at your best, which will lead them to a 1-1 draw this afternoon.
The omens look good for Leicester City, with kickoff in the East Midlands now just a minute or so away:
KICKOFF! An impressive start from the hosts, who attack their opponents right from the off through Vardy. He was dispossessed in possession on the edge of the box, but the early signs are positive for Leicester.
Leicester are full of confidence in these opening stages, constantly pushing forward and pegging Swansea back. Vardy in particular is looking lively, while Albrighton has just swung in a decent cross which Fabianksi did well to handle.
YELLOW CARD! It is going to be a long afternoon for Amat, in for the suspended Taylor this afternoon, following an early booking. He brought King down in a wide area, leaving referee Lee Probert with little choice but to reach into his pocket.
This really is incredible stuff from the Foxes, who are feeding off the vociferous backing from their supporters to put together attack after attack. Swansea are simply unable to get out of their own half.
Wing-backs Schlupp and Albrighton are seeing plenty of the ball in attacking areas, as Leicester continue to ask all the questions. They have yet to get a shot on goal, but the Foxes have done pretty much everything else so far.
Swansea have still yet to have enjoyed any sort of spell on the ball, which is largely down to Leicester's intense pressing forward. A poor back pass from Morgan to Schmeichel almost caught the latter out, but he managed to launch it to relative safety.
This contest has not truly settled down yet, with Leicester still pretty frantic in their attacking play. The home supporters are really up for this one today, and their team is responding out on the field. Swansea will no doubt grow into the game, but at this stage they are being made to soak up as much pressure as possible.
GOAL! LEICESTER CITY 1-0 SWANSEA CITY (ULLOA)
Wouldn't you just know it! Ulloa was due to be watching on from the bench this afternoon, but an injury to Nugent in the warm-up saw the former Brighton man brought into the fold, and it is his strike which has given the hosts a well deserved lead. The Foxes have started like a house on fire, not giving Swansea a second to get their foot on the ball. Morgan managed to hold the ball up inside the box, and Ulloa latched on to it to fire beyond Fabianski for his first goal since Boxing Day.
Monk will not be too pleased with his defenders for the part they played in that opening goal, failing to deal with Morgan's hold-up play which allowed Ulloa to fire home. It is the least Leicester deserve, though - now it is a case of sustaining this early momentum.
OFFSIDE! The Swans were very nearly a few moments ago, with Routledge latching on to a through-ball and charging in on goal before tucking away. The offside flag was up on the far side, however, and it looked to be just about the right call. That was incredibly tight!
CLOSE! I was expecting Leicester to start strongly - they are three points adrift at the bottom, after all - but this is something else. For 22 minutes now they have been throwing all they have at Swansea, and they came within inches of bagging a second goal through Albrighton. He brushed aside a weak challenge from Amat, before curling a shot narrowly wide of the far post.
Leicester will no doubt tire at some stage, so it may just be a case of the Swans riding this wave and keeping the contest as tight as possible. For all of the Foxes' efforts, Routledge did have the ball in the net up the other end, remember, so one goal is unlikely to be enough. Shelvey has just had a pop at goal, but he was unable to find the target.
...and he wasn't even supposed to be on the field:
SHOT! It has taken nearly half an hour of this game, but Swansea finally have a hold of things. Following that Shevley shot a few minutes ago, Sigurdsson worked a shooting position of his own. Unlike his teammate, he did manage to test Schmeichel, but the Danish stopper was well behind it.
The Foxes are having a lot of joy down the right; Kramaric the latest to craft a chance from that flank. He swung in a superb ball into a central position, which Williams had to be alert to clear behind. Swansea looked to break from the resulting set piece, but once again they were swarmed out by a number of players in blue.
Swansea have showed the odd glimpse that they will grow into the contest as it wares on, but right now it is still all about the home side. You get the feeling that Pearson will have to use all three subs this afternoon if they continue at this rate.
A great challenge from Albrighton denies Routledge what would have been a certain goalscoring chance. The Swans appear to have tinkered with their formation slightly, with Sigurdsson playing high up the field now to stop the home side throwing so many bodies forward.
Monk's charges are certainly more in the game now compared to 10 minutes ago, as they finally begin to put together some attacking moved of their own. Schmeichel has yet to be truly tested, though, but that could all change before the interval.
Routledge has been arguably the best player on the pitch so far, even if his side have been second best. His piercing runs have caused the Foxes problems on a couple of occasions, albeit with little end product. These next five minutes are huge for Leicester, because for the first time today they are on the back foot.
Leicester are ending this half just as they started it - pinning Swansea back and knocking on the door for a goal. The pressing has been unbelievable for the best part of 42 minutes, and they are rewarded when the ball falls to Albrighton out wide. Fabianski, by far the busier keeper this afternoon, flapped at the cross, but the Foxes could not get a foot on it inside the area.
SHOT! Another fairly simple save for Schmeichel to make, but a save nonetheless. Shelvey was looking to pick out the bottom right-hand corner with his curled attempt, but the Danish keeper was able to collect it down low.
SHOT! Swansea are determined to cut through the heart of their opponents, but because they can't find that killer through-ball they are relying on shot from range. Sigurdsson is the latest to fire away, yet his deflected stop was simple enough for Schmeichel to handle.
HALF TIME: LEICESTER CITY 1-0 SWANSEA CITY
A really entertaining half of football comes to a close, and it is one that Leicester have dominated in large. Swansea have been restricted to shots from range, none of which have truly troubled Schmeichel between the sticks, while the home side's intense pressing has seen them ask a lot of questions of the Swans' backline.
Routledge has been Swansea's best player so far and he did have the ball in the back of the net, only for the offside flag to have already been raised on the far side. Other than that, Pearson will be delighted with what he has seen, but they may rue not doubling their advantage in the opening 45 minutes after late inclusion Ulloa fired them ahead on 15 minutes.
Here's a quick look at the half-time scores from the other games taking place in the Premier League this afternoon:
It means that, as things stand, Leicester are up to 18th place and level on points with Hull one spot above them. Two more goals will be enough to take them out of the drop zone, but Nigel Pearson will just be keen to see out the win no matter how it comes about.
BENCH WATCH!
LEICESTER CITY SUBS: De Laet, Konchesky, Drinkwater, James, Lawrence, Mahrez, Schwarzer
SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Tremmel, Bartley, Britton, Grimes, Montero, Dyer, Emnes
Following a frantic opening 45 minutes, Leicester's back-up players are clearly going to play a big part in the second 45 minutes. Swansea are the most likely side to make a change at the break, but Monk may wait until the hour before doing so.
KICKOFF! We are back underway in the East Midlands, and there is new of one change to bring you from the interval; Da Laet replacing Wasilewski at wing-back.
CLOSE! Brilliant chance for Leicester to double their lead just a couple of minutes into the second half. Schlupp created the opening from the left, with the Swans struggling to deal with the cross into the box. Albrighton latched on to it, but he fired agonisingly wide of the target from 15 yards out.
CLOSE! Leicester have started this half in the same way they started - and indeed ended - the first half. Kramaric had so much space to run into, and having reached the edge of the box he curled an effort towards the top right-hand corner which was just inches away from rustling the net.
Swansea are desperately lacking width today. Too often they are looking to find that killer through-ball, but Leicester are far too organised for that. The Foxes have been good value for their lead, but they really should have had two by now.
SAVE! For the first time today, Schmeichel is truly tested between the sticks. Shelvey was the man who tried his luck from range, but the Leicester keeper was well across to push it away from danger. This game really has been enthralling right from the off.
CLOSE! The next goal really will be key in this game, but right now it could go either way. Ulloa is the latest to come close to adding the second goal of the contest, with his header looping onto the roof of the net.
Kramaric perhaps should have done better when the ball fell his way inside the box a few moments ago, but he was unable to test Fabianski in the end. The atmosphere has increased another few notches, as home supporters urge their side onto a second goal.
SWANSEA CITY SUB: Well I mentioned how Swansea have badly lacked width today, and Monk clearly agrees. Ki has been underwhelming during his hour on the pitch, with the South Korean the man to make way in place of Montero - a player who loves to get chalk on his boots.
Montero has made an instant impact as he charges down the line before cutting inside, but another substitute in Da Laet was across to clear away the danger. I think it's fair to say this game is simply not going to settle down at any stage.
Kramaric swings another decent cross into the box which Fabianski rather flaps at. Leicester have not made the most of those crosses so far, which they may just live to rue.
Montero twists and turns out on the left, leaving Da Laet in a tangle. The Ecuador international managed to get a cross in at the end of the move, too, which dipped onto the roof of the net. Hearts in mouths moment for for Foxes supporters, as Swansea appear to turn the screw a little.
SAVE! A huge save from Schmeichel, who made himself big to deny Oliveira. The Benfica loanee got the better of his marker to burst in on goal, but his shot was fantastically kept out by Leicester's No.1 in a manner his father would have been proud of.
LEICESTER CITY SUB: A second change for the Foxes, as Ulloa makes way for Mahrez. Swansea have been on top for the past six or seven minutes, so this sub was very much needed even if it disrupts the flow for the next few minutes.
SWANSEA CITY SUB: The Swans have also made their second change, with Dyer replacing Routledge in a like-for-like swap. Fresh legs on both flanks could prove key in these final 20 minutes.
SAVE! Swansea work a free kick brilliantly from a wide area, which culminates in Montero firing away a shot which deflected wide of goal. Leicester defended the resulting corner kick well and attacked in numbers up the other end; Vardy feeding in Mahrez who saw his shot saved by the large frame of Fabianksi.
DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: A change apiece, as Gomis replaces the rather ineffective Oliveira, while Drinkwater comes on for Kramaric for the home side.
Leicester certainly deserve to be ahead, and they perhaps should have added more to their tally this half, although Swansea have also had their chances. This one is perfectly balanced as we enter the final 13 minutes of the East-Midlands showdown.
MATCH ACTION: Oliveira tussles with Wasilewski at the King Power Stadium. Both players have since been replaced, but the scoreline remains delicately-poised at 1-0:
PENALTY SHOUT! A huge, huge call from Lee Probert, which goes against the home side. Vardy burst into the box which caught Williams out a little, and the Welshman seemed to lean in with his arm and shove his opponent off the ball, but the referee waved play on.
Nigel Pearson was left fuming on the touchline following that decision, and his mood will not have improved after Vardy fired home from a good position inside the box. Leicester should be out of sight, yet Swansea are incredibly still in this one as we enter the final eight minutes.
Having seen that penalty decision once again, it is fair to see that Lee Probert made the incorrect call. It may not matter, but with the Foxes players tiring this may be Swansea's turn to ask all the questions.
SAVE! Leicester are creating chance after chance after chance, the latest of which is headed over by Morgan from a corner. Prior to that Mahrez looked to pick out the corner with a well-struck shot, although Fabianski was equal to it to push the ball behind.
YELLOW CARD! Leicester have showed no signs of sitting back in these late stages of the game, but maybe they should now stick rather than twist. The action has been a little quieter over the past couple of minutes, as Shelvey enters the referee's book from tripping Mahrez.
GOAL! LEICESTER CITY 2-0 SWANSEA CITY (KING)
Welshman Andy King seals the points for Leicester, sending the home fans into absolute bedlam. They have been superb all afternoon, and it would have been a travesty had they failed to pick up the win which lifts them off the bottom. From that free kick which Shelvey gave away, Cambiasso tried his luck. Fabianski failed to handle the ball, and King was the man who gambled to fire home from all of five yards out.
What a noise inside the King Power Stadium. Leicester have been bottom since November would you believe, but they have played like a side who have been flying all season. They have just one more minute to see out.
FULL TIME: LEICESTER CITY 2-0 SWANSEA CITY
Referee Lee Probert blows for full time, meaning that it is three wins on the bounce for a resurgent Leicester side. They are on fire at the moment, and this was arguably the best performance of the lot. Off the bottom of the table for the first time in five months, the Foxes are now in real contention of avoiding the drop. Swansea, meanwhile, remain firmly in the top half of the season, but they will have to wait to surpass their previous best points tally for a Premier League season.
Well that brings to an end our live text coverage from this afternoon's match at the King Power Stadium, but be sure to stick around with match analysis and ratings still to come.
