Leicester City are running out of time to preserve their Premier League status.
With only 10 games of the season remaining, the Foxes are six points behind 17th placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has a mountain to climb and with a tough run of fixtures to come for Leicester, the writing could be on the wall if wins don’t come around soon enough.
Van Nistelrooy was praised for his tactical change against Chelsea, but even though it was a much-improved performance, no points were added to the board.
The Blues will know all too well about complacency – it was the Foxes’ achilles heel in the 2022/23 relegation campaign and they can’t afford to repeat that again.
Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
James Maddison tweet from 2023 resurfaces amid relegation battle
James Maddison was a big part of the Leicester squad, during good and bad times.
His time at the King Power Stadium ended on a sour note though after the Foxes were relegated to the Championship.
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Not long after that, Maddison joined Tottenham Hotspur and his relationship with supporters on Filbert Way was fractured.
In all honesty, Leicester fans had washed their hands with the England international way before his exit after a tweet he posted in 2023.
Shortly after the Foxes were beaten 1-0 by Southampton, Maddison responded to journalist Rob Tanner after he criticised the way Leicester played at St Mary’s Stadium.
He wrote: “Rubbish. Watch and analyse the game properly and stop writing headlines like that which you know makes fans pile on with negativity. Play like that and we’ll be absolutely fine. Created numerous brilliant chances and win comfortably on another day.”
It was this mentality that got Leicester relegated last time and should the same attitude creep in again, it will end up with the same outcome.
What are Leicester’s final 10 fixtures of the season?
We’re now very much into the final hurdle when it comes this rollercoaster of a season.
As it stands, Leicester will be relegated with a game to spare – something nobody wants.
The final five fixtures of the season are among the kinder ones for the Foxes, aside from the East Midlands derby clash against Nottingham Forest.
Home games against Southampton and Ipswich Town are the most winnable of the lot whilst a trip to Wolves can’t be anything else other than three points.
For now, games against Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Liverpool must all come first and with the gap to safety looking more ominous than ever, only the best will be enough.