Can Leicester City win the Championship?

15/09/23 1012

Just seven years after winning the Premier League, Leicester City found themselves relegated from the top flight of English football.

The carcass of Leicester City was plucked by teams around England over the summer following relegation to the Championship.

Indeed, it was an offseason of complete change for the Foxes. A new manager arrived, and several players exited the King Power Stadium.

The most high-profile player to leave the club was James Maddison, who is proving to be one of the bargain transfer buys of the season for Tottenham. Yet, his exit has helped revitalise and improve Leicester City.

The Foxes go in round No. 6 of the Championship season in third place. They are just one point off first-place Preston North End.

The Championship season is long and winding, and six matches is not much of a sample size.

But Leicester City have looked impressive to start the campaign. Twelve points were taken from the opening 15 points on offer for Leicester.

Four consecutive wins to start the season were followed by a surprise 1-0 loss to Hull City before the international break.

Although it was a shock loss, Leicester City are good enough to rebound from it. The Foxes outscored their opening five opponents 7-4. Three of their five matches finished with 2-1 scorelines.

To say Enzo Maresca’s team is the finished article would be a mistake. Leicester City are a work in progress and can only get better.

Like Burnley hiring Vincent Kompany in 2022, Leicester City turned to a Pep Guardiola disciple to resurrect their fortunes.

Maresca has turned Leicester into a possession-heavy team. They are second in the Championship in possession, with 62.5% of the possession per game.

The team is turning possession into shots. Leicester average 17.6 shots per match. They are second in passing accuracy, with 88.6% per fixture.

Maresca is leading a revolution at the King Power Stadium after the failures of Brendan Rodgers after he led the club to the FA Cup trophy in 2021.

If there is a problem with Leicester City currently it is their lack of goals from the possession and shots per game stats.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and forward Kasey McAteer lead the team in goals, with two each.

Strikers Kelechi Iheanacho, Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka have shot blanks so far. There is a belief that once the strikers start firing, Leicester will be able to run away with the Championship.

Bookmakers have Leicester City as the favourite to win the Championship at odds of 3.50. Leicester City’s squad is packed with quality. If the team can overcome their shock loss to Hull City, the Championship trophy could be theirs.