Leicester City
Position : 2nd
Points : 6
Results : Leicester City 4-2 Sunderland
West Ham United 1-2 Leicester City
Top players so far : Riyad Mahrez & Jamie Vardy
Next Fixtures : Tottenham (H)
Bournemouth (A)
Aston Villa (H)
Stoke City (A)
Arsenal (H)
After the great escape last year under Nigel Pearson where Leicester won 7 of their last 9 games to retain the right to play in the Premier League, no one would have predicted Leicester to continue their winning mentality under their new experienced boss Claudio Ranieri. Leicester kicked off the new campaign with a commanding performance at home to a stuttering Sunderland. The home fans may have been optimistic for the new season but I'm not sure even they would be expecting to be 3 goals to the good with only 25 minutes on the clock courtesy of a Jamie Vardy header and a brace from Riyad Mahrez. Mark Albrighton added a fourth to restore Leicester's 3 goal advantage before a goal by fletcher gave Sunderland a glimmer of hope, however Leicester defended well and held on for a vital three points to start the season. Going to the Boleyn Ground and getting a result was predicted a near impossible ask following West Ham's impressive 2-0 victory away at Arsenal. Ranieri's side showed no signs of stopping their sensational form with a amazing victory. Mahrez added another goal to his tally bringing him one goal shy of his tally for the campaign last season in only two games. New signing Shinji Okazaki managed to get himself on the score sheet showing a great level of determination to manage to find the back of the net. Leicester were fortunate to still have 10 men when Kasper Schmeichel was not shown a red card for a clear foul on the on-rushing Diafra Sakho. Leicester created more chances in the second half but failed to score and did concede a screamer, courtesy of the Hammer's new boy Dimitri Payet. However Leicester held on to maintain a 100% record with a strong goal difference. If Leicester's defence can stay compact and try concede less goals against the lower clubs in the league and can continue this good form in their next few games, they could find themselves in mid-table or even the top 8 places at a push. Leicester's charge for a top 10 finish will certainly be helped by the addition of Claudio Ranieri as manager. I do give credit to Nigel Pearson for the job he did last year to keep Leicester up and to see him depart Leicester was a huge shock, however Leicester did a great job in getting a manager who has managed some of the most renowned clubs in the world. If they can continue their great goalscoring form which they've started the season with, they should be able to threaten the defences of most teams this season with the creativity of Mahrez, the work rate of Vardy and the finishing of all the attacking players, Leicester could be a force to be reckoned with this season.
Woody's Prediction : 10th
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