Sweet Sixteenth?: Where others think Leicester City will finish this season
Perhaps you’ve already read our own expert predictions and you want to see what else is out there?
Well, against our better judgment, we decided to head out into the murky world of other websites and discover what ‘the pundits’ think lies ahead for Leicester City in 2022/23.
It’s probably not a surprise that nobody thinks we can improve on last season’s 8th place. We’re not big on clickbait but… you’ll never believe where some guy you’ve never heard of from NBC Sports thinks we’ll finish. Scroll down to find out!
8th
FourFourTwo: ‘The table might not lie, but it is prone to telling a few porkies. Ultimately, Leicester ended ‘only’ a place outside the European spots last season, but a side ravaged by injury and poor form suffered for large spells and only came eighth after battering impoverished rival pushovers Norwich, Watford and Southampton in their last four games.’
9th
Opta / The Analyst: Their supercomputer gives Leicester City a 4.12% chance of finishing in the top 4.
The Guardian: ‘After last year’s difficult season ended in an eighth-place finish, this is a huge campaign for Leicester City. Do they re-emerge as a challenger for Europe or continue to fall back into the stress-free comfort of mid-table mediocrity?
Remember, it was only just over a year ago that – with largely the same squad and manager – they blew the chance to qualify for the Champions League on the last day in 2020-21.’
Joe Prince-Wright, NBC Sports: ‘For a club of their size and their resources it almost feels like they’ve hit their ceiling, they’re a bit lost and they’re wandering around trying to figure out what’s next.’
10th
Phil McNulty, BBC: ‘The Foxes' manager wanted a "healthy shake-up" to rejuvenate his team and has so far been unable to do that. Crucial weeks ahead and if Rodgers succeeds this prediction of mid-table could yet be a pessimistic one.’
Daniel Storey, iNews: ‘There’s no reason why Leicester can’t kick on without European distractions, but everyone around them is improving too.’
Ben Snowball, Eurosport: ‘The last time we all wrote Leicester off, Andrea Bocelli was belting out Nessun Dorma in a Foxes shirt eight months later. That won’t happen this time around with the Foxes 100% in turmoil – plus Brendan Rodgers is more of a soft rock fan anyway.
Zero signings, an ageing squad, Kasper Schmeichel out the door and Wesley Fofana and James Maddison in line to follow. It's not looking good. The Foxes are no longer best of the rest so what exactly are they?’
11th
Radio Times: ‘Leicester are still firmly tucked away in bed as the new season approaches. There's an air of malaise around Brendan Rodgers's side and the fanbase. No signings in, no transfers out.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is set for a bigger role, but Jamie Vardy's inevitable decline – whenever that happens – is hardly being prepared for. Can someone give The Foxes a prod?’
12th
The Sporting News: ‘Leicester have made themselves top-half staples but appear to be somewhere between stagnation and decline, with the Foxes’ complete lack of transfer incomings a week before the season starts feeling like another sign that Brendan Rodgers’ impressive reign is winding down.’
Sam Wallace, Daily Telegraph: ‘A difficult window for a club that have consistently challenged for Europe and yet made no signings to date. The long-trailed deal for Youri Tielemans has not yet gone through to Arsenal – and may not – and without that Leicester seem stuck in limbo.
They rallied in the final four games of last season after a worrying slump. In a league where standing still is an invitation to fail, Leicester seem to be stuck in 2021/22.’
14th
Nicholas Mendola, NBC Sports: ‘How many of these players are a little distracted? This is a big task for Brendan Rodgers and why they signed him - this is a big test of his mettle.’
16th
Andy Edwards, NBC Sports: ‘I was really high on the signings they made last summer. I think they missed on most of them, at least in year one.’