Ahead of Tuesday night's game at Premier League
leaders Leicester City, we spoke again with Foxes' fan Colin. He gives us his
views on his club's fairytale season, their title chances,
the Baggies, and more. You can follow Colin on Twitter @Ultra_Fox.
There's
no other way to start this… Leicester fans must be in dreamland at the moment?
Absolutely! This season to date
has gone better than anyone dared hope for. At the start, many Foxes would have
settled for a 40-point season and 17th-place finish. But we’re well on course
to do quite a bit better than that.
Who do you
see as your biggest challengers for the title?
It has to be Tottenham. They’ve
recovered well from their defeat against us in January and are clearly the form
team in the league right now. However, they have a tough run of games coming up
and it will be interesting to see how they emerge, both mentally and physically,
from that. Arsenal, while possibly the most gifted team in the league, don’t
quite seem to have the right mentality to be title contenders and their defeat
at Old Trafford was a severe blow to them. As for Manchester City, they’re too
far back now from the top 2 after their two recent home defeats and have said
openly that the Champions League is now a bigger priority for them.
Can you do
it? Can you win the Premier League title?
Given our current position, and
the run-in we face compared to those of our rivals, the prospect of landing our
first-ever top flight title has to be considered a serious one. We’ve shown
during the last few weeks that the only team that can stop us winning the league
is ourselves. If we can hold our nerve. and keep key players fit, during the
remaining games, there is no reason why we can’t hold on to the top spot.
I'd imagine
there's plenty to choose from but is there one moment that stands out more than
all of the others as your highlight of the season?
The magic moments have indeed
come thick and fast this season, with Leo Ulloa’s late winner vs Norwich being
merely the latest example. If pressed to name the biggest, though, I’d probably
have to go with Jamie Vardy’s first goal vs
Liverpool – an audacious effort to attempt, let alone accomplish. A
collective “wow” could be heard around the stadium when it found the
Liverpool net. It gave us the
edge in what had hitherto been a tense game, and set us on the way to a vital
win.
Foxes'
player of the season? Vardy? Mahrez? or is there an unsung hero of the campaign?
Both of those players have been
widely praised – and deservedly so – for the contributions they have made to the
campaign so far. But the credit extends throughout the whole squad, who have
all played important roles at various stages. Even the defence – widely viewed
as a weak link in the early months of the season – has improved significantly,
with a run of five consecutive home clean sheets. Midfielder N’Golo Kante has
probably been the most impressive player so far. His current hamstring injury –
and consequent absence from the Albion game – is a real setback for us.
Thoughts on
Albion's season?
From the outside, there seem to
be a few off-field undercurrents which have acted as a barrier to progress.
Saido Berahino’s dispute with the club hierarchy appeared to affect morale
within both the dressing room and the fanbase for some time. Although it’s now
apparently been resolved, the manner of your cup exit at Reading – and the
appalling coin-throwing aftermath – clearly did not go down well. But the
victory over Palace should banish any fears of the drop, and I’d imagine Villa’s
impending demise will not be widely mourned among baggies.
How are
City likely to line-up on Tuesday night?
The current 4-4-2 formation,
which has generally served us well this season. is likely to be retained. Andy
King has already been announced as Kante’s replacement. Other than the return of
Danny Simpson from suspension at right-back, I don’t expect any other changes to
our starting line-up.
Thoughts on
the game and prediction?
Another tight, tense,
hard-fought game in which Tony Pulis is likely to pack the defence and park the
bus. But Mahrez and Vardy have already shown this season they have the quality
to overcome those tactics, and the likelihood is that they will do so again. I’m
going for a 2-0 home win.
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