Magic points total City 69 need for a top four finish is...
FIVE VICTORIES AND A DRAW COULD BE ENOUGH
FIVE wins and a draw from 10 games could be enough to secure a place in the Champions League for Leicester City.
Like last season, Brendan Rodgers’ side sit third in the Premier League table with 10 games to play.
Although they are three points better off than at this point last term, the cushion to fifth is just five points, three fewer than it was a year ago, with the battle for a place in Uefa’s top competition more fiercely contested than ever.
While Manchester City are already well clear at the top, places second to fourth are up for grabs, with Manchester United, Leicester, Chelsea, West Ham, Everton and Spurs the main candidates.
Liverpool, Aston Villa, and maybe even Arsenal may have an outside shout if others above them slip up.
While City boss Brendan Rodgers won’t be laying down a points target for his team to reach – he says he won’t even be considering the table until after the final whistle on the last day – we have delved deep to calculate the magic number the clubs might be aiming for.
The final tally for the fourthplaced club can vary wildly.
Over the past 20 years, it has been 79 points at its peak, and 60 points at its lowest.
The average points total for fourth has steadily risen. In the first 10 years of the century, it was 68, but in the 10 years since, it has been more than 71, perhaps as the so-called big six have increased the gulf between themselves and the rest of the division.
Overall, it works out at an average of 70, but this season the number may be just short of that, given the current rate at which the teams involved in the hunt are picking up wins.
Just as there are massive swings in the final total, the points collected in the final 10 games can vary too.
In 2008, fourth-placed Liverpool earned 23 points from their final 10 matches to secure the spot, but at the other end of the scale, Everton stumbled home in 2005, picking up just 10 points and just managing to hold on. With fourth-placed Chelsea currently on 50 points, it can therefore be expected that the final tally will fall somewhere between 73 and 60 points.
On average over the past 20 years, the tally for fourth place has risen by 19 points across the final 10 games, which suggests this year’s magic number will be 69.
For City, that is 16 points away, and they should feel they have th fixtures to get there. Sunday’s clash with Sheffield United is one of five games the club still has to play against sides in the bottom half, with WBA, Crystal Palace, Southampton, and Newcastle also to come.
However, Rodgers’ men also take on Manchester City and West Ham just after the international break, while they conclude with Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs.
While City will be aware of their recent failure in last season’s stumble to fifth, they can also take confidence in their previous results against their final 10 opponents.
If they match the 23 points they secured in the reverse legs, they will comfortably sit inside the top four when the final whistle blows at the King Power Stadium on May 23.
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KELECHI Iheanacho is the “ultimate professional” who is finally being rewarded.
After scoring in back-to-back games to help Leicester City earn four points on the road at Burnley and Brighton, the striker is in line for a fourth straight Premier League start this weekend against Sheffield United.
It will be only the second time Iheanacho has been given such a run in the side in four years at the club, and the first since October 2018.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has praised the 24-year-old for his behaviour in training and his understanding of the role he plays in support of Jamie Vardy. His patience may be tested further next season, if City bring in a striker as they hope to, with Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard among the targets.
But Rodgers’ high praise suggests Iheanacho will do what he always has, and get on with the job without complaint.
“He’s been the ultimate professional,” said Rodgers on the Nigerian. “He’s never once come knocking on my door saying: ‘I should be playing more,’ or ‘I should be in the team.’
“He’s a great team player who understands his position and his role, and if ever I need to pull him in and speak to him and chat, I’ll do that.
“He enjoys his life as a football player and that’s what I see every day.
“No (there’s no ego), not at all. He thinks about the team.
“I know strikers want to score goals and play games, that’s what they’re judged on. But I’ve emphasised his importance to the squad, whether he’s playing or not playing.”
Making cameos here and there is not ideal for building confidence as a striker and Iheanacho does seem to be a player who has bursts of good form.
Overall, Rodgers is pleased with his contribution. His strike against Brighton was his seventh of the season, meaning he is now level with Vardy for non-penalty goals this campaign.
In total over the last two seasons, he has averaged a goal or assist for every 100 minutes he is on the pitch. For Vardy, he’s involved in a goal every 116 minutes.
Rodgers added: “I have empathy for his role, it’s not an easy role for him or any striker who’s coming in when you have someone of Jamie’s quality in front of them.
“But I think Kelechi’s been great, he’s had little spells when his confidence has been down, but we’ve always encouraged him and he’s been a joy to work with.
“He never misses a training session, he always comes in with a smile. We’ve tried to improve his confidence and be specific with certain areas of his game, so that when he arrives into the game, he can make a contribution.
“He’s been a great understudy for us and, in the main, when he’s asked, he always gives his all and produces. I’ve been really pleased with his contribution.”