5 teams that can pull off a Leicester in the next few seasons
Leicester City had a fairytale 2015-16 season. Prior to that, the only time we heard their name was in a debate on whether it's pronounced "Lay-ces-ter" or "Lai-ches-ter". Then Claudio Ranieri weaved his magic as Leicester defeated giant after giant on the way to a memorable and logic-defying triumph.
The image of the Leicester City players celebrating when Eden Hazard scored the equalizer against Tottenham, to all but mathematically ensure title victory for Leicester is etched in the memory of all football fans.
The midfield duo of N'golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater, with Riyad Mahrez on the wing and Jamie Vardy up front, had the time of their lives and let's face it, who doesn't love to watch the underdog win?
At the start of the season, Leicester City were 5000/1 to win the Premier League. In the bookmaker's list, the odds that Hugh Hefner would admit that he was a virgin was 1000/1 and the odds that the Lochness Monster would be discovered was 500/1 i.e. 10 times more likely.
This puts a number on how unlikely the event was and statistically, we might not get to witness another such event for decades. But since when has football strictly followed the laws of mathematics?
Here's a look at 5 teams that are most likely to pull off a Leicester City in the next few seasons:-
#5 Burnley
Burnley is probably the first name that comes to mind when you think of teams that have punched above their weight recently. Currently, they sit seventh in the Premier League and level on points with Spurs. Yes, let that sink in.
They have kept 6 clean sheets this season, the third highest number after the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal. They have conceded only 12 goals, third lowest in the league and tied with Chelsea.
Stephen Ward, Ben Mee, Matthey Lowton, James Tarkowski and Nick Pope in goal have made the lives of their opponents extremely hard as they have put up solid defensive displays whenever they are out on the field.
They beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by three goals to two in the opening day of the current season. They followed it up with two 1-1 draws against Spurs at Wembley and against Liverpool at Anfield.
Arsenal had to rely on a 92nd-minute penalty from Alexis Sanchez to beat them and only City have managed to win by a handsome margin against this resolute Burnley defence.
They don't score too many goals, they are 13th in the league in terms of goals scored with only 14 goals. They don't take too many shots either. Burnley are 13th in the league in terms of shots taken.
Their defence is what makes them tick and that is why they are having such a fine run in the league. As Sir Alex Ferguson once said:-
" Attack wins you games ,defence wins you titles".
It has been an incredible season for Burnley when we factor in the shoestring budget on which the club runs when compared to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.
They have been led by Sean Dyche since 2012, making him the third longest-serving manager of any club in the Premier League this season, after Arsene Wenger and Eddie Howe of Bournemouth.
He has ushered in an era of stability that has seen their rise of Burnley from League One to the Premier League.
If anybody is about to pull off a Leicester, then Burnley are surely among the best bets.
Also read: 5 underdog league triumphs to inspire Leicester City