July 18 2006

Championship trophy

Leicester certainly have the credentials for a successful season this term, writes Danny Hayes.

After a couple of struggling seasons in the Championship, there were clear signs in the second half of last season that they had turned the corner.

Under the guidance of Rob Kelly, Leicester performed admirably and managed a mid-table position when relegation looked a real possibility at Christmas. This was highlighted with a very good victory against Palace at the Walkers Stadium in April.

And with a couple of useful acquisitions over the summer including Andy Johnson from West Brom, Leicester look one of the improving teams in the league.

Their Squad

Starting with the front pair of Mark De Vries and Iain Hume, they have two strikers that compliment each other's strengths very well.

De Vries being the powerful rough forward while Hume has the pace and trickery that could one day worry Premiership defences. The one worry is that neither forward really looks prolific scorers but they are well assisted with Matty Fryatt off the bench.

In midfield, Leicester play very narrow with Johnson, Joey Gudjonsson, Gareth Williams and STEPHEN Hughes set to make up the quartet across the middle.

Gudjonsson is influential and can literally score from anywhere on the pitch, while Williams compliments his attacking ambition well by holding the midfield together.

Johnson and STEPHEN Hughes are set to provide the width but they are more central midfielders by trade, leaving the team dependant on the full-backs to provide the crosses.

However, both Johnson and Hughes are good passers of the ball and are fully committed to the team's cause, so will be of great benefit.

The defence is very solid and was the main reason Leicester turned their season around last year. Patrick McCarthy and Patrick Kisnorbo from the central partnership and have a good blend of experience and enthusiasm.

Alan Maybury and Nils Eric-Johansson are the full-backs and while both solid, they appear to lack an attacking edge required for a team that plays narrow.

Probable Starting XI

Previous Meetings

01/04/06 – Leicester 2-0 Crystal Palace

02/01/06 – Crystal Palace 2-0 Leicester

01/02/03 – Leicester 1-0 Crystal Palace

27/08/02 – Crystal Palace 0-0 Leicester

When We Meet This Season

21/10/06 – Away

10/03/07 – Home

Prediction

Leicester are sure to continue the improvement they began to show last year under boss Kelly and with that in mind, could potentially have an outside chance for promotion.

The one big worry for the Foxes is the lack of strength in depth, but their starting eleven along with the organisation and work ethic that Rob Kelly has installed, is sure to make them difficult to beat. They are a team to watch out for and it would not be a surprise to see them make the play-offs.