Foxes of Leicester
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Leicester City must wake up or risk losing their sleep

By Harneet Singh Sethi

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates with team-mates after scoring his team's first goal from the penalty spot during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City at American Express Community Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates with team-mates after scoring his team's first goal from the penalty spot during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City at American Express Community Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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While Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham sparked life into their campaign, Claude Puel’s Leicester City sunk further into a hole destitute of any life at all. A hole with tedium galore.

We have already passed that time when we could brand Leicester’s ongoing crisis as ephemeral, and a result merely of a minor blip in form – the one that we have seen an assortment of this season. This is actually the time to panic, if one were to put it crudely.

Leicester have just one win in their last six Premier League games. They can be pardoned for the defeats against Arsenal and Everton, who are clearly the better sides;  but how can they be forgiven for not beating West Ham United, Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion, both of whom are below them in the table?

These are the kind of games that you’ve got to win. If you don’t, you are staring at a sustained period of adversity which is always followed by the kind of urgency that Leicester felt in 2014/15. Now let’s look at Leicester’s current situation: they have 18 points from 13 games and are placed tenth.

WATFORD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 27: Isaac Success of Watford celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Premier League match between Watford FC and Huddersfield Town at Vicarage Road on October 27, 2018 in Watford, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
WATFORD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 27: Isaac Success of Watford celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Premier League match between Watford FC and Huddersfield Town at Vicarage Road on October 27, 2018 in Watford, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

A win against Watford might still afford them some room to breathe, but if they drop points again this weekend, then there’s a very good chance of them not picking a single point up until the December 29, when they play Cardiff City. Before that, they face:

Fulham (A)

Tottenham Hotspur (H)

Crystal Palace (A)

Manchester City (H; Carabao Cup)

Chelsea (A)

Manchester City (H)

Looking at the way Leicester have done against relatively smaller teams or teams of equal calibre, you’d be safely deluded if you think that the Foxes are guaranteed even a single point from those fixtures. That they will drop loads of points isn’t a certainty either, but it is a prospect that does seem the more likely. It could turn into an inevitability soon.

And while Puel’s side fight for their lives in December, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United and Newcastle United will all be right on their tails to take advantage. This is why the importance of this Saturday’s crunch tie against Watford cannot be overstated.

Next. Report: Leicester City player demands transfer for January window. dark

It is beyond imperative that Leicester get the three points, even if it takes every ounce of energy, every smidgen of their resources and all of their ability to get them. This isn’t an exaggeration. It’s a wake-up call, for if they are sleepy still, then they may not be able to sleep for some time.