With Leicester City’s somewhat anti-climactic season coming to a close nearly two months ago now, and now what seems like a strong feeling of wanting to bounce back as quickly as possible, from everyone involved with the club. All have been eagerly waiting with anticipation for the release of the Premier League’s 2022/23 fixture list. Here we identify three key fixtures for the Foxes in this up-and-coming campaign.
Saturday 1 October, 2022 Leicester City vs Nottingham Forest
It was one Brendan Rodgers’ lowest points as the manager of Leicester when his side travelled to the City Ground in February last year, as the now newly promoted side dismantled the FA Cup holders 4-1. This fixture will give Rodgers’ side an excellent opportunity for redemption while also being poised to give an indication of European hopes, given the very difficult start seeing LCFC play four teams that finished in the top seven in the first two months of the season.
It will be a chance of early-season bragging rights for City fans as this is a fixture they have not seen in the league for eight long years, when both sides were in the Championship, something I’m sure that the majority will relish.
Although the home side will be the favourite, Steve Cooper’s high-press style of play could potentially give them another embarrassment with this particular tactic which has undone the Foxes many times before.
Saturday 31 December, 2022 Liverpool A
With a season like no other on the horizon, the East Midlanders will have a scheduled break between the dates of 12th November and 26th December in order to accommodate for the winter World Cup hosted in Qatar. Of course, there is a lot of football to be played between now and the middle of November but considering that LCFC have many seasoned internationals in their ranks already -Kasper Schmeichel and Timothy Castagne, just to name a few. It is very likely that not dissimilar to the African Cup of Nations, we see an obvious hangover from players that compete in the World Cup with this game being just the second game played for City after the restart.
It also opens up those individuals to greater risks of injuries, as it will add more high intense games in extreme heat to their season. This will increase fatigue and reduce recovery time, this is of course a worry for a side who was decimated by injuries in consecutive seasons.
That mark is also around the half-way mark of the campaign and will once more be a checkpoint in which LCFC analyse their first half of the year and to do it against a probable title contender in Liverpool.
The Reds, of course, will have numerous players returning back from the World Cup as well, making it an excellent time in which to play them. This will in turn give Rodgers and Leicester a very good indication of where they are as a team leading into the transfer window and what areas may need to be strengthened.
Sunday 28 May, 2023 | West Ham United H
It probably felt quite strange to not suffer a final-day heartbreak this season for City, however this final-day tie has all the makings of one. Playing a side who have consistently put Leicester to the sword over the last two seasons and will more than likely be competing for the same position in the league table going into this game.
With both teams having aspirations of Europe, it will more than likely not be a meaningless game, especially if the last few years are anything to go by. For Leicester fans it would be a very welcomed change, to perhaps not be on the receiving end of gut-wrenching heartbreak but to impose such a feeling on the opposition.