Whilst the Premier League season has just finished for Leicester City, the next campaign’s fixtures have already been released. Every story has a beginning, middle and end; therefore let’s look at the three key periods of Leicester’s seasons. Undoubtedly, each of these times will play a part in dictating the Foxes’ fortunes and whether they can continue the upward trajectory under Brendan Rodgers.
Exact references to the time and dates of the fixtures will generally be avoided since these are likely to change, and Leicester City’s involvement in the Europa League will certainly switch many games from the ‘traditional’ Saturday 3pm slot.
An Optimistic opening to the season?
Leicester City have a chance to make headway from the get-go with a reasonably ‘kind’ start. The season starts with yet another home game against Wolves on the 14th August 2021. This is followed by West Ham, who may once again potentially challenge LCFC in a top-six race. Getting three points on the board against a potential top-six rival may prove invaluable by the season’s end, with league standings often differentiated on fine margins. Leicester City have learnt this all-too-well in recent seasons, so must use this hurt to spur themselves onto greater things.
With a trip to newly-promoted Norwich City on the agenda, maintaining a 100% record throughout the opening month is far from impossible. Although starting the season well does not determine where you finish (shown by Man City last season), it is always a good way to get confidence flowing and provide a solid foundation for the coming months.
When will Leicester City play the top-six?
For the 2021/22 season, Leicester City’s fixtures against the top-sides are mostly spread out throughout the calendar, rather than being over a short period of time. LCFC face Manchester City at the beginning of September, followed by Manchester United and Arsenal in October. Luckily, these games are separated by more manageable opponents, despite Leicester City’s form last season being exemplary versus traditionally superior sides and worse against teams they were supposed to beat.
In 2022, top-six games follow a similar trend, with these ‘crunch’ ties spaced out generally three to four weeks apart from each other. Again, this could be a double-edged sword, as winning games consecutively against big-sides can do wonders, though the inverse could be crushing to team morale and belief. Please click below to enter the last page of analysis over 2021/22 fixtures, where Foxes of Leicester discusses a bleak mid-winter for the east Midlanders.
A bleak mid-winter for Leicester City
Every team has got to face the best throughout the season, unfortunately for LCFC, these encounters seem to cluster around the Christmas period. Leicester City face a potentially season-shaping quartet of fixtures with visits not from Santa, but rather from Spurs and Liverpool. Adding to trips to Everton and Manchester City, this bodes to be an extremely tough Christmas for the Foxes.
The Boxing day fixture versus Manchester City continues the spooky trend of Leicester City facing a big side, with the Foxes playing Liverpool and Manchester United in recent years. Nevertheless, Leicester City fared well against the top-sides throughout last season, so what could be a momentum-breaker could equally fire up a strong second-half push towards the top.
No excuses for bottling the end of the season
Unlike past campaigns, the fixture computer has been much more thoughtful with Leicester City’s run-in. Instead of trips against Manchester United and Spurs which have been the norm of the past two seasons, Leicester can look forward to comparatively straightforward showdowns versus Everton and Watford. This is finished by a home tie against Southampton on the 22nd May 2022. Leicester City know their Achilles heel in dealing with smaller teams, and this is an issue that must be solved, which if it is, will ensure the number of dropped points decreases substantially.
If LCFC’s Premier League campaign is not decided by this point, they will know destiny remains more in their hands, yet nothing can be taken for granted in the Premier League. As of yet, it’s too soon to call predictions, although key dates can start to be pencilled into the calendar.