Pundit and former footballer Robbie Earle believes Leicester City could be in a position to repeat their magical performances from last season – but warned it was at this point last season where things took a turn for the worse.
Things are lining up just right for the Foxes in 2020/21, as they head into the winter schedule second in the league table following their victory over top-six rivals Tottenham.
Speaking on the latest edition of The 2 Robbies Podcast, Earle believed that Leicester will need to take a warning from what happened last year if they are to avoid stumbling at the final hurdle once again when it comes to competing for the Champions League:
“We saw them do it for half the season last year, then about this time of the year, look at the stats, things started to go wrong. I know they had some injuries, but it all started to fall apart.
“They were second in the table now which gives them a chance as they were last year going into Christmas. So it’s big second half of the season coming for Brendan [Rodgers]. I’d love to see him stay in there and be battling for those Champions League spots, think it will be great for those young players as well.”
Will Leicester finish in a European spot this season?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Robbie Earle’s Leicester comments…
Leicester have certainly put themselves in a very good situation once again, and a manager of Brendan Rodgers’ experience should have the wherewithal to be able to handle things.
However, one thing that they didn’t have to contend with last time around that they will this year is their exploits in Europe. And whilst they do have a big squad to go around and rest players when needed, the quality of their strength in depth isn’t quite the same as others around the top of the table.
And if they want to compete on multiple fronts and go deep into the Europa League, especially in a truncated season such as this, then something may end up giving towards the end of the season that could cost them that place in the top four, leaving them in the same place they were last year.