Leicester: Gary Neville says ‘wobbling’ Foxes WILL miss Premier League top four again

Gary Neville thinks Leicester will miss out on the top four again this season after a damaging defeat to European rivals West Ham on Sunday.

The Foxes have been in the Champions League places for the majority of the season but a 3-2 defeat at fourth-placed West Ham left them just two points ahead of Chelsea in fifth.    

A disappointing result was compounded when it was revealed James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury were dropped from the match-day squad for a breach of Covid-19 protocol after attending a house party indoors last week.

Gary Neville believes Leicester will miss out on the top four again after 3-2 West Ham defeat

The worrying slide is reminiscent of last season, where a catastrophic end to the season saw them surrender their place inside the top four on the final day. 

Pundit Neville had previously stated it was ‘fixed’ on that the Foxes would secure third place when pressed on the race for Champion League qualification while only on Monday admitted he expected West Ham to fall just short.

But after Sunday’s result, Neville now believes an implosion could be about to happen all over again and said on his podcast: ‘Where West Ham are is unthinkable. None of us thought they would be in with a shout of top four.

‘I worry about Leicester. I remember before Monday Night Football and thinking that Leicester would get into the top four. If you ask me now, five or six days later, I’m saying no (they won’t get top four). I think they could really struggle in the next few weeks.’

After the Foxes trio flouted protocol last week, Brendan Rodgers accused them of lacking respect for the UK public with national restrictions still in place.

Manager Brendan Rodgers accused the dropped trio of lacking respect for the UK public

The Northern Irishman confirmed they will be available for selection again for their FA Cup semi-final against Southampton next week, but Neville thinks the breach could see a divided dressing room at the King Power with the run-in fast approaching.

‘It’s an issue with the team selection but it’s an issue with regards to three players in your dressing room. What impact does it have at this stage of the season,’ Neville added. 

‘Losing (on Sunday) and seeing those big clubs just creep up on them and West Ham. The Chelseas are waiting, the Liverpools are waiting.

‘If you’re Leicester and see what happened to them last year, you’re thinking: “Here we go again”. 

Neville thinks Foxes could suffer a repeat of last season when they surrendered top four place

‘It will be a big effort for Leicester and I hope they do it because it would cement the work that Brendan Rodgers has done over a couple of years. 

‘But looking at them now, they could go again. They’re wobbling. West Ham look stronger than them at the moment.’

Victories for Chelsea and Liverpool at the weekend further boosted their Champions League qualification hopes with just four points separating the four teams with two places available.

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