da bet7： 15th place. five points clear of the relegation zone. 2015/16 champions.
da betobet： Leicester City have experienced the starkest fall from Premier League grace imaginable. As their dreams continue in Europe, Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes have been brought back to earth the most brutal of thuds. With five points from their last seven matches and having won only five Premier League matches all season, Leicester City are under very real threat of relegation.
The improvement of Swansea and Hull City, particularly, must be concerning Ranieri. The one-time ‘Tinkerman’ stuck to the same eleven and same tactics last season. This season, as results have gone from bad to worse, he has altered his approach on a regular basis, whether that be a back five or a midfield diamond, the Foxes are all at sea.
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The most recent example of the disastrous tinkering was this weekend. Southampton walked all over Ranieri’s side to beat them 3-0 and, frankly, the champions were fortunate it was not an uglier score line. Ranieri took the blame for a defeat, as his diamond midfield was toyed with by Southampton. Leicester’s midfield played like they had never even trained in the formation before and they are beginning to show the body language of a team under pressure.
Now, no one expected anything like another title challenge from Leicester this season. However, flirting with relegation was not expected either. Their best players from last season have hardly even been shadows of their former selves and their defence – that surprised everyone with its brilliance last season – is in a full-on self-destruct mode. Nothing is functioning correctly in the current Leicester side, few players are performing to an adequate standard, even. Their best hope of improvement are the returns of Algerian duo, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, from the African Cup of Nations.
Next up for Ranieri’s side is a trip to Burnley. The Clarets boast a home record deserving of the top six and have shown the sort of defensive resilience, led by their goalkeeper Tom Heaton, which defined Leicester’s title win last season. While Leicester have looked like a team playing in the shadows of their own success for much of this campaign, there has been the odd match (particularly in Europe) where they have looked as fiercely motivated as they did last season. A trip to Turf Moor is unlikely to motivate them in quite the same way, in that sense, it is the hardest possible fixture at this juncture.
Burnley have played with a Leicester-esque spirit for periods of this season, just as they showed at Arsenal last time out. Sean Dyche’s team would love nothing more to topple the champions and they are understandably strong favourites. Ranieri must find a way for his team to turn their form around in matches like this if they are to avoid being dragged into an increasingly competitive relegation battle.
Leicester’s removal from the identity that made them the greatest shock in sporting history is putting them in serious peril. Ranieri is right to change his team’s system when results are poor, but there is only so much that can be done. Whatever tactics they have employed, Leicester have looked a team uninspired and been unable to compete. A second half comeback against Stoke City and victory over Manchester City are the beacons of hope for Leicester in the latter stages of this campaign, they must channel those two performances if they are to avoid defeat against Burnley in what has become one of the hardest Premier League fixtures.
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