What was the situation like when the league was suspended on 13 March? Leicester were surpassing expectations, sitting third in the table as a result of performances that suggested Brendan Rodgers is on course to fulfil the club’s aim of building a team with more dimensions than the sensational 2016 title winners. For a while they even looked like they might challenge Liverpool: they racked up a 9-0 win at Southampton as part of a club-record eight consecutive top-flight wins, all while playing with verve, skill and intelligence. That dream ended in December with consecutive defeats by Manchester City and Liverpool.
Then, in the new year, Leicester were hit hard by the injury to their inspirational midfielder Wilfried Ndidi, winning only one league game in seven. But when he returned to full fitness, Leicester regained their best form. In their last match before lockdown they showed their attacking might with a 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa, with Jamie Vardy seemingly back to his best and Harvey Barnes demonstrating the ability that will make him great if he produces it more regularly.
What about now? That match against Villa was not all sunlight: Ricardo Pereira suffered a knee injury that will prevent him from playing in the remainder of the season. He will be difficult to replace because he is one of the best right-backs in the league, secure defensively and superb going forward. James Justin has impressed in his few outings since joining from Luton last summer and will now get a chance to show what he can do consistently. Meanwhile, the exceptionally talented left-back Ben Chilwell, who has had some worrying off-days this season, needs to recapture the form that has led to Chelsea being linked with a big transfer bid.
What needs to be done to have a successful end to the season? Their gifted young players must demonstrate they can sustain top performances during a high-stakes run-in. Losing the Carabao Cup semi-final to Aston Villa was a wounding blow. Qualifying for the Champions League would be an admirable achievement and they go into their last nine matches with an eight-point lead over fifth-place Manchester United – whom they host in their final game of the season. More consistency from Barnes, Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and Demarai Gray would be particularly welcome and, of course, Justin will have to rise to a big challenge. To help focus their minds Rodgers recommended his emerging talents devote part of lockdown to watching The Last Dance, the Netflix documentary about Michael Jordan. “If you want to know what being elite is and what being at the very top level in terms of preparation is, and focus and improvement and being better and winning, this is what you should be watching,” he said.
Have players and staff behaved during lockdown? No breaches were reported. The main concern was for the wellbeing of Rodgers, who fell ill with coronavirus two weeks after their last match. “I wasn’t well and it was later detected I had the virus,” he said. “A week after that, my wife had it. We spent about three weeks feeling the effects. We were nowhere near as bad as a lot of people but we lost our smell and taste for three weeks. We lost our strength, so I had a little feeling of whatever it must be like. It was tough.”
Any unsung/community heroes? Kasper Schmeichel donated £20,000 to Age UK in March. “Let’s do all we can to help the elderly,” the goalkeeper said.
Key player in the run-in? Ndidi. The Nigerian secures central midfield, providing assurance to Leicester’s fine defence and talented attackers. Without him Leicester are not as confident or secure. Even though Kelechi Iheanacho has improved so much he often warrants a start ahead of Ayoze Pérez, Leicester remain quite dependent on Vardy, still the best finisher at the club.
End-of-season prediction Leicester will finish in the top four and could satisfy their craving for a trophy by landing the FA Cup.
Remaining fixtures (all times BST): Sat 20 June Watford (a) 12.30pm, BT Sport Tue 23 June Brighton (h) 6pm, Sky Sports Wed 1 July Everton (a) 6pm, Sky Sports TBC Crystal Palace (h), Arsenal (a), Bournemouth (a), Sheffield United (h), Tottenham (a), Manchester United (h).
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 29 | 45 | 82 |
| 2 | Man City | 28 | 37 | 57 |
| 3 | Leicester | 29 | 30 | 53 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 29 | 12 | 48 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 29 | 14 | 45 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton | 29 | 7 | 43 |
| 7 | Sheff Utd | 28 | 5 | 43 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 7 | 41 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 28 | 4 | 40 |
| 10 | Burnley | 29 | -6 | 39 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 29 | -6 | 39 |
| 12 | Everton | 29 | -9 | 37 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 29 | -16 | 35 |
| 14 | Southampton | 29 | -17 | 34 |
| 15 | Brighton | 29 | -8 | 29 |
| 16 | West Ham | 29 | -15 | 27 |
| 17 | Watford | 29 | -17 | 27 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 29 | -18 | 27 |
| 19 | Aston Villa | 28 | -22 | 25 |
| 20 | Norwich | 29 | -27 | 21 |
