Leicester City Championship Odds: Can Foxes defy deduction?

As things stand, you have to say that Leicester City offer brilliant value in the Championship promotion market. There is the ongoing case which should to lead to a points deduction, likely to be between six and 12 at the time of writing. 

However, the relegated Premier League teams have performed incredibly well across the last few seasons, and Leicester could still be competitive even with those points knocked off. Below you can find the Leicester City Championship Odds along with a season preview. 

I know we don’t take much into account from the recent Premier League season, but Leicester did amass the most points of the relegated teams (25). Ruud van Nistelrooy wasn’t a great appointment, and after a long managerial search this summer they finally settled on Marti Cifuentes. 

You do feel that Danny Rohl may have been the number one target, and the timing just wasn’t right before he left Sheffield Wednesday, but Cifuentes is still a manager with plenty of experience at this level, having done well at QPR. It will be interesting to see how the Spaniard fares with one of the strongest squads in the division, given he is used to battling against the odds. 

Championship Odds

Transfer business

In:  Asmir Begovic (free).

Out: Conor Coady (£2m), Danny Ward, Daniel Iversen (both free).

It’s been very quiet on the transfer front at Leicester City this summer, but that’s fine. Jamie Vardy said his farewell to the club at the end of last season, while they’ve also let two goalkeepers leave. 

Conor Coady heads to Wrexham but the fee of £2m is good, while Asmir Begovic comes in to challenge Mads Hermansen for the number one spot. The first-choice keeper continues to be linked with a move away but nothing has materialised as of yet, while two returning loanees, Hamza Choudhury and Harry Souttar, could play massive roles having both done well at Sheffield United last term. 

Souttar needs more time to return from his Achilles injury, but the squad still looks incredibly strong. James Justin, Harry Winks, Stephy Mavididi, Kasey McAteer and Wout Faes all remain at the club and should be able to dominate most games in this division.

Key Player: Stephy Mavididi

The last time he was at this level, Mavididi was utterly superb as Leicester beat Ipswich Town to the title. He scored 12 goals and got six assists as the Foxes hit 97 points to secure their spot back in the Premier League. 

He, and the club, didn’t hit the same heights in the top flight, but the English winger was still one of their better players as he got four goals. Now 27 and back in the Championship, he is a key figure of this squad that should go well this term. The Foxes have retained a lot of the starting XI that struggled last season, which can be looked at in a positive or negative way. 

If he can recapture the flying form we saw two years ago, he could be in the team of the season. 

Prediction: 6th

I’ve convinced myself that Leicester could challenge for promotion when writing this, but I can’t escape a few things. First of all, the points deduction. Although they could post a whopping 90 points if they have a good year, take 10 away from them and they probably end up in the play-offs. We are still playing a guessing game on that before a ball is kicked. 

Although I like Cifuentes, and this squad has plenty of know-how, this squad could experience somewhat of a Premier League hangover given they haven’t had a summer refresh - and how much desire is there from these players to try and win the Championship again having done it just over 12 months ago?

Football Odds

I still think they could lose some key players before the window shuts in the form of Wilfred Ndidi and Hermansen and my main concern is around their striker situation. Patson Daka is the only central forward on their books at the minute, and he is yet to win over the Leicester fans. He’s scored 17 goals in 96 league appearances for the club since he joined, and while he got seven in 20 the last time he was in the Championship, I am concerned he may not be up to the job of firing them into top-two contention. 

They need a new addition up top and if they get one, perhaps my view would change. But with a new manager and the impending points deduction - I believe they will have to settle for a play-off place. I’m predicting that they will get around 84 points on the pitch, with a 10-point deduction taking them down to sixth. 

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