With just eight games left before the end of the season, Leicester appears to be closing in on the Premier League title in a bid to cap off an impressive Campaign with some major silverware.
More often than not these days, Leicester don’t seem to be going into games intending to entertain anymore, Claudio Ranieri understands the complexity of the situation they’re in, and he’ll be keen on taking full advantage of that.
The tinkerman doesn’t have a League title to his name spanning across all his previous stints with top clubs, but his calm and patient approach to things this season seems to have set him en route to breaking that jinx.
For most of the Season, Ranieri did nothing but play down Leicester’s title challenge even though they’ve been in and around the top two for quite some time.
Ranieri’s constant denial of Leicester’s title hopes definitely took a lot of pressure away from the lads, which made them just approach every game with a winning mentality – and by the looks of things now, that attitude is set to manifest itself in the form of a Premier League trophy.
What seemed like an unrealistic occurrence at the start of the season now looks like a certainty as the Foxes have duly staked their claim at the top of the pecking order in emphatic fashion.
Although at this stage of the game, Leicester’s best bet would be grinding out games like they’ve done in their last three fixtures against Crystal Palace, Newcastle, and Watford in which they secured consecutive 1-0 wins.
Playing dominating football would be a major risk for Leicester now and with Tottenham hot on their trail, the Foxes might just relinquish the title before the season is over.
Mauricio Pochettino and company don’t look like they’re going to give up anytime soon, and they’ll be looking to close in on Leicester’s five-point gap in the next couple of weeks.
The real test of Leicester’s season is now upon them as they take on tough teams on the road to the Premier League glory.
Their remaining fixtures include games against Southampton, Sunderland, West Ham, Swansea, United, Everton, and Chelsea.
This is surely not a list of fixtures Ranieri would’ve had in mind going into the final stage of the season.
But with the right mentality and tactical set-up, Leicester should be able to secure plenty of points in their remaining fixtures.
Although the Foxes need to be wary of the prospect of Tottenham and even Arsenal catching up with them considering the fact that if Leicester drop points the two London clubs could catch up with them.
The Foxes’ Mental Strength
It’s safe to say that Leicester have found themselves in an unfamiliar territory all through this season, with most of their players lacking the experience required to launch a viable Title Challenge.
However, taking into account the fact that they’ve already gotten this far, it would be utterly heartbreaking if they lost out on the title at the last minute, so it’s evident that the Leicester players need to be Strong in all areas of the pitch including Mental Preparedness.
Leicester arguably have the toughest run of fixtures left in the League, and it would definitely require something exceptional from them to secure maximum points from their remaining fixtures.