Incredible top-flight title stat will give Leicester fans hope after the Foxes defeat Newcastle
While Leicester City have been decidedly iffy at the King Power Stadium, their scintillating form on the road has kept them well in the race for the Premier League title.
Brendan Rodgers’ men are third, just one point behind Manchester United and leaders Liverpool having played a game more than the pair after Sunday’s 2-1 win at Newcastle, which came courtesy of strikes by James Maddison and Youri Tielemans.
It means the Foxes have won seven of their first nine Premier league away games, with Opta revealing that Leicester are the 19th team to achieve that feat in England’s top flight.
Youri Tielemans put the game beyond Newcastle after James Maddison’s second-half opener
Brendan Rodgers’ side have won seven away league games this season and lost just once so far
19 – Leicester’s start is the 19th time a top-flight side have won least seven of their first nine away league games of a season – none of the previous 18 have finished outside of the top four, whilst 50% of those sides have gone on to win the division that season. Contenders? pic.twitter.com/sue0LMAXPb
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 3, 2021
Jurgen Klopp’s men are the only team to have beaten Leicester on their league travels this term.
Encouragingly for Rodgers’ side, half of those other 18 outfits went on to win the title and none finished outside the top four.
Leicester were in the driving seat for a Champions League spot for much of 2019-20 before being pipped to the post by Manchester United after losing 2-0 at home to the Red Devils on the final day of the season.
Having won their only top-flight crown in sensational fashion five years ago under Claudio Ranieri, this may be the club’s best chance to emulate that success with no side running away with the league this time and Liverpool on 33 points after 16 games – 13 points worse off than they were at this stage last season when they stormed to their first-ever Premier League crown.
Leicester certainly face a tough examination of their credentials during the rest of January, with home fixtures next against Southampton and Chelsea.
A tough trip to Everton follows, before the month is rounded off as Leeds come to the East Midlands.
The Foxes’ fine form away from home has been a key factor to them featuring in the title race
Will there be a repeat of these sensational scenes at the King Power from five years ago?
