by Aiden Slattery
Leicester City go into the final game of the season this Sunday with their Premier League survival looking increasingly unlikely.
With a 0-0 finish in their previous fixture against Champions League qualifying Newcastle United, Leicester have given themselves a lifeline going into the last game of the season as they levelled Leeds on thirty-one points.
Equal on points with Leeds United, but sitting in eighteenth in the relegation zone, the only statistic that may work in Leicester’s favour is their significantly better goal difference in comparison to Leeds.
To retain their Premier League status for next season, not only must they beat an in-form West Ham United, but Leicester fans are also relying on Bournemouth to come out with a win against Everton.
If Leicester win, and Everton lose, it will be Everton who will finish eighteenth instead and make the drop to the EFL Championship with Leeds and Southampton.
As West Ham prepare for The Europa Conference League Final in Prague next month, players will be competing to impress manager David Moyes for a starting place for their upcoming cup final, which could spell bad news for an underperforming Leicester City squad.
A life-long Leicester City fan, Samuel Wheddon, shared his disappointment with the current state of Leicester city, saying: “I haven’t enjoyed this season at all, it’s been a pain to watch, but I’m still proud of what this team has done, never thought I’d see us win the [Premier] League”
Holding on to hope however, he said: “I do think we’ll beat West Ham this weekend, they have bigger things to worry about, it’s down to Bournemouth to beat Everton at this point if we want to stay up.”
The final match-day presents three established Premier League teams fighting relegation, Leeds, Leicester and Everton, with two of them guaranteed to make the drop to the Championship next season, joining already relegated Southampton.
Leicester City’s potential drop from the topflight of English football is made even more surprising considering since their promotion from the EFL Championship almost a decade ago they have pulled off what can only be described as a miracle, lifting a Premier League trophy, an FA Cup and a fairy tale run to the quarter finals in the Champions League.
With a top-half finish in six of their previous seven Premier League campaigns, the Foxes enter the last game of their 22/23 season with the odds of maintaining topflight football stacked against them.
