Leicester City: Premier League champions to relegation risk

Premier League champions Leicester are in the relegation battle. We look at the stats behind their staggering collapse...

In May last year, Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri stood beside Andrea Bocelli at the King Power during a rousing rendition of Nessun Dorma after his team defied 5000/1 odds to achieve the 'impossible' and win the Premier League.

Fast forward nine months and the Foxes are in trouble, just one point above the drop zone with rumours of division between players and coach.

However, the King Power witnessed a welcomed boost on Wednesday after an extra-time 3-1 victory over Derby in the FA Cup fourth round ended a run of five games without a win in all competitions.

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Ranieri's men have also progressed from the Champions League group stages, winning four out of six in Europe and losing only once - albeit a 5-0 thumping at Porto.

But what is behind Leicester's Premier League collapse? We check the stats...

ATTACK

Jamie Vardy scored 24 goals last season but has only netted five times this term from just nine shots on target - with a hat-trick coming in the Foxes' 4-2 win over Manchester City in December.

Meanwhile, 2015/16 PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez has only grabbed three goals, having scored 17 in the last season.

In addition, the Foxes have made fewer shots on target, crosses, chances, scored fewer headers and won fewer penalties this time around.

In fact, the only attacking stat that Leicester have surpassed in 2016/17 is headed shots on target - despite scoring fewer overall - with new signing Islam Slimani scoring all four of his headers on target.

DEFENCE

Despite Vardy and Mahrez hogging the headlines last season, N'Golo Kante was instrumental in the Foxes' fairy tale.

The defensive stats show just how important the France midfielder was to their style of play. During this campaign, Leicester have won 35 per cent fewer interceptions, 30 per cent fewer tackles and 17 per cent fewer duels. Kante territory.

Kante's absence has undoubtedly contributed to 50 per cent fewer clean sheets and conceding nearly twice as many goals.

In fact, the only two stats that this season's Leicester team have surpassed from last term are saves made, goals conceded and errors leading to goals - although the Foxes have still only made two costly mistakes this season.

PASING AND WORK ETHIC

Leicester have attempted a similar number of long balls per game this season, a linchpin of their title-winning counter-attack style, typically via Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy - but have teams learned how to nullify the style?

The stats highlight that Leicester's style has not changed considerably, which suggests teams have learned how to counter the counter-attack.

This season, the Foxes have recorded an almost identical average possession of around 40 per cent, covered a similar distance on the pitch and completed only 17 fewer sprints per game.

A notable stat drop has been in the number of dribbles attempted, which has averaged at 16 per game compared to 23 last season, with Leicester's top dribbler Mahrez dropping from eight to six per game.

In terms of activity, Ranieri's side also play in the same areas of the pitch, primarily down the flanks in the final third of their own half and lower third of the opposition's half.

However, there has been a drop in activity in front of the central defence, which once again points towards a deficiency borne from Kante's departure.

Leicester would become the first Premier League club to be immediately relegated after winning the title - which would be almost as incredible as their underdog fairy tale last year.

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