Leicester City: 2017/18 season preview

Around this time last year, Leicester City were still basking in the joy of their momentous Premier League triumph as they prepared for an unlikely title defence.

Claudio Ranieri’s Fearless Foxes had stepped into the brave, the previously uncharted territory of the Champions, but now, they had to prove their achievement was no fluke, and that they were worthy possessors of a status that everyone craves for but few go on to achieve.

A year on since that title win, no one is quite sure about what holds more truth – the claim that 2015/16 was indeed a fluke, or the opinion that the disaster that followed was but a bad chapter.

Such garbled state of views about Leicester City means that for the second season running, the Foxes have a lot to prove to the footballing world, and for Craig Shakespeare, there’s only one way of doing that: A place in Europe.

While it’s commendable that the Leicester City manager isn’t settling for mid-table mediocrity, it’s not wrong to say that Shakespeare is being a bit unrealistic in aiming for the top six. The Premier League’s big six all bigger than ever, Everton stronger than ever, plus a handful of other teams in contention for the top-half of the table, a 10th-place finish would require some job, let alone a European place.

However, the kind of rollercoaster ride that Leicester City have so far had in England’s top division, you must write them off at your own peril, for this is a team that backs itself to pull off miracles.