INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Premier League Title: 4 Reasons Why Leicester City Can Win It

By Nicholas Kitonyi
Published on: 06:34 PST, Feb 6, 2016

This weekend will see all teams challenging for the Barclays Premier League title play match No. 25 of the season. Leicester City, the surprise table toppers will remain at the top of the table having already beaten Manchester City in the early Kick-off while London-based Tottenham Hotspur will climb to second spot after seeing off the challenge of Watford City at the White Hart Lane stadium.

This season’s Premier League title race is so far the most surprising since the commencement of the competition in 1993 from the old Division One status having seen Premier League title holders Chelsea fail to offer a formidable defense to their title while the likes of Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur have played some of their best football in years.

At the beginning of the season, Leicester City’s odds of winning the Premier League title this year were 1000/1 with Paddy Power, but now the club is ranked favorites at 7/4 to lift the coveted trophy in May. However, the biggest question in many soccer fans is whether or not Leicester City have the experience to see off the challenge posed by the chasing pack. Tottenham climbed to within five points of catching Leicester City, while Arsenal FC who are yet to play their match No. 25, which is against newly promoted AFC Bournemouth could also rise to within 5 points off the top.

Meanwhile, Manchester City who blew their chance to go top/level on points with Leicester City, are currently in third position but could end the weekend in fourth if Arsenal pick up three points at Bournemouth. On the other hand, Manchester United are now 13 points off, but could cut the gap to 10 points if they can pick up a win at Chelsea on Sunday. The last surprise team to lift the Premier League title was Blackburn Rovers, back in 1995, so can Leicester City do it?

While some still believe Leicester City lacks the experience to maintain their current form to the final match of the season and thereby lift the Premier League title, nearly everyone is convinced that the team will be in the UEFA Champions League next season. Nonetheless, here are the four reasons why Leicester City could do what Blackburn Rovers did in 1995 and lift the Premier League title.

Jamie Vardy can play the Alan Shearer Role

Jamie Vardy is the leading scorer in the Barclays Premier league with 18 goals and many believe that the chances of Leicester City lifting winning the Premier League title this year rely a lot on his form and health. Four seasons ago, Vardy was playing non-league football but has now seen his stock rise to the point of being made Leicester City’s best paid player. Just like in the 1994/1995 season when Alan Shearer scored the goals for Blackburn Rovers to help them lift the Premier League title, Jamie Vardy has been doing this for Leicester City since the beginning of the season. Jamie Vardy’s goals will be key if Leicester City are to lift the Premier League title at the end of the season.

No pressure on Leicester City Players

Leicester City are under no pressure at all to win the Premier League title. All the other Premier League title challengers have spend a lot of money and are thus expected to be challenging for the title. On the other hand, Leicester City’s goal at the start of the season was to reach the magical 40 points mark and avoid relegation. The second target was to improve on last year’s final Premier League table position, while a third if any, would have been to get the team to a Europa League position. Therefore, the team appears to have already achieved all it’s targets midway through the season, which means challenging for the Premier League title is nothing more than a bonus.

Teams still Underestimate Leicester City

Up until this weekend, most Premier League title challengers were counting the points between them and Manchester City as the difference between them and the top of the table. This is basically because most believe that while Leicester City are still top, they lack depth in squad, which is necessary to win the Premier League title. As such, when they play Leicester, they tend of forget the importance of taking caution in defense. In most matches Leicester City have lower possession than their opponents. They pry on counter attacking opportunities as well as exploiting weaknesses of their opponents and this has put them within a brink of winning the Premier League title.

The Premier League title is the only trophy they are competing for

Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United are currently the main rivals to Leicester city in the Premier League title chase, but they are all still involved in at least three competitions. On the other hand, Leicester City is the only team among the top five that is involved in one competition and that’s why they have the best chance of winning the Premier League title from the perspective of the number of matches to be played before the end of the season. It appears that while they lack squad in depth, they may not need it in the end to win the Premier League title.

[Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images]

Share this article: Premier League Title: 4 Reasons Why Leicester City Can Win It
soccer manchester united arsenal Barclays Premier League
More from Inquisitr