DESPITE CURRENTLY BEING three points clear at the top of the Premier League, not many people are tipping Leicester to win the title this season.
However, they have one big advantage over their rivals — given that they’re out of both domestic cup competitions, Claudio Ranieri’s men have no more than 15 competitive games left this season.
Consider the Foxes’ relatively light schedule in comparison with their rivals.
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Second place Man City are still in the Champions League, the FA Cup and League Cup. Therefore, worst/best case scenario, in addition to 15 Premier League games, they could have five FA Cup matches, two League Cup games and seven Champions League matches (excluding the possibility of FA Cup replays). That’s 29 matches in total — almost twice as many as Leicester.
Similarly, Arsenal are still in the FA Cup and Champions League. So like City, they could have to play five FA Cup matches (excluding potential replays) and seven Champions League games, or 27 matches in total.
Finally, Tottenham are still in the FA Cup and Europa League, and so may need to play five FA Cup games (discounting the prospect of replays) and nine Europa League matches. In other words, 29 fixtures overall.
Granted, the aforementioned teams are unlikely to make it to the final of every competition they’re competing for (in fact, at least one of them definitely won’t, as three teams obviously can’t participate in the FA Cup final), but even the psychological boost for Leicester knowing they could have significantly less games to play may make a difference in the run-in.
Moreover, at the highest level, factors such as fatigue and games played — even if it’s only a marginal difference between teams — can have a significant impact.
In addition, Leicester are undoubtedly one of the fittest squads in the Premier League — the fact that they are routinely cited as being one of the worst teams for possession in the league and invariably spend the majority of games chasing the ball supports this belief.
And Claudio Ranieri’s men’s lack of games in comparison with their rivals can only help in maintaining this level of intensity for the duration of the campaign.
Two seasons ago, Liverpool — who also had far less games to worry about than their rivals and didn’t have the burden of European football to contend with — came desperately close to an unlikely title triumph. Can the Foxes go one better this time around?
Here's why Leicester could have a big advantage in the Premier League title race
DESPITE CURRENTLY BEING three points clear at the top of the Premier League, not many people are tipping Leicester to win the title this season.
However, they have one big advantage over their rivals — given that they’re out of both domestic cup competitions, Claudio Ranieri’s men have no more than 15 competitive games left this season.
Consider the Foxes’ relatively light schedule in comparison with their rivals.
Second place Man City are still in the Champions League, the FA Cup and League Cup. Therefore, worst/best case scenario, in addition to 15 Premier League games, they could have five FA Cup matches, two League Cup games and seven Champions League matches (excluding the possibility of FA Cup replays). That’s 29 matches in total — almost twice as many as Leicester.
Similarly, Arsenal are still in the FA Cup and Champions League. So like City, they could have to play five FA Cup matches (excluding potential replays) and seven Champions League games, or 27 matches in total.
Finally, Tottenham are still in the FA Cup and Europa League, and so may need to play five FA Cup games (discounting the prospect of replays) and nine Europa League matches. In other words, 29 fixtures overall.
Granted, the aforementioned teams are unlikely to make it to the final of every competition they’re competing for (in fact, at least one of them definitely won’t, as three teams obviously can’t participate in the FA Cup final), but even the psychological boost for Leicester knowing they could have significantly less games to play may make a difference in the run-in.
Moreover, at the highest level, factors such as fatigue and games played — even if it’s only a marginal difference between teams — can have a significant impact.
In addition, Leicester are undoubtedly one of the fittest squads in the Premier League — the fact that they are routinely cited as being one of the worst teams for possession in the league and invariably spend the majority of games chasing the ball supports this belief.
And Claudio Ranieri’s men’s lack of games in comparison with their rivals can only help in maintaining this level of intensity for the duration of the campaign.
Two seasons ago, Liverpool — who also had far less games to worry about than their rivals and didn’t have the burden of European football to contend with — came desperately close to an unlikely title triumph. Can the Foxes go one better this time around?
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