The Premier League is here. On Friday night, nine months of invigorating, heart-stopping drama begins and Leicester City will be in the thick of it once more.
Preparation has not been ideal for City, with a change in manager and continued financial constraints. But where does that leave them going into the campaign?
Here, our writers Jordan Blackwell, Josh Holland, and Amie Wilson give their predictions on the new season, where City will finish, their key players, and the challenges they face. You can let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Where will Leicester City finish and why?
JB: It would not be unreasonable to argue that City can finish anywhere between 12th and 20th. There look to be nine teams who could feasibly be in the relegation battle – the promoted trio plus the six sides who finished directly above the drop zone last season – and one or two results often make a big difference in the bottom half of the table
However, I fear the worst, and that City will finish bottom. Simply, there’s more that could go wrong at the King Power Stadium than at the other clubs.
Mostly, that relates to the club’s potential sanction over their alleged breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules. I don’t think the club’s argument stands up that well and I can’t see them avoiding punishment. I doubt they’ll receive the good behaviour leniency that Nottingham Forest did, so I’d expect at least a deduction of six points.
Plus, they’re coming into the season with limited spending on their squad, especially given they have sold their best player in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. A few days before the season begins, it cannot be definitively said that the squad is better than it was at the end of last term.
The departure of Enzo Maresca, the arrival of Steve Cooper and the adjustment to new tactics naturally means City have taken a slight backwards step, even if lots of the ideas from last season persist. And while the new manager has shown at Forest he can get a fanbase on side and help create an atmosphere that wins points, it feels like he has a lot to do to reach that point at City. At Ipswich and Southampton, where the managers are loved, it feels like there will be more patience with bad results.
Lastly, the pre-season displays don’t bode well. Hopefully the Lens performance has given everybody a wake-up call, because if City play like that for the next nine months, they won’t finish outside the bottom three.
JH: The time has come and City are back in the Premier League. After the highs of last season in the Championship, things are about to get interesting in LE2.
Have a quick scan of season predictions from pundits or magazine previews and Leicester are nailed on to be relegated. Amid the uncertainty over the quality of the squad and looming fear of a points deduction, City are favourites to go down.
However, in what feels like a very unpopular opinion, I feel Leicester will have enough. The club’s ongoing legal battle with the Premier League means a points deduction blow may not come until 2025, meaning Cooper’s men will compete with their relegation rivals on a level-playing field.
The club thrives on being the underdog. Think to 2015 under Nigel Pearson, 2016 under Claudio Ranieri, 2017 under Craig Shakespeare and 2021 under Brendan Rodgers.
Leicester definitely need more players but there are two weeks before the window closes. A new forward and creative player would significantly improve their chances.
If they can make the King Power Stadium a fortress, collect points against teams around them and improve the connection with the supporters, City should be okay.
looming possibility of a points deduction. I do still think that City could have enough though, and Cooper has got experience of leading a club to safety when in a relegation battle.
