Vardy’s Leicester keep dreaming as United threaten

By Mike Collett

LONDON (Reuters) – Surprise front-runners Leicester City will be hoping history does not repeat itself when Manchester United provide the opposition in an unlikely top-of-the-table Premier League clash at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Before last Saturday, Leicester had not led the table since October 2000 when United, who were second then as they are now, came to their old Filbert Street ground, inflicted Leicester’s first defeat of the season winning 3-0 and went on to win the title as the Foxes faded to finish 13th.

Leicester have only lost one of their opening 13 games this season and went top last week for the first time since that weekend 15 years ago when they won 3-0 at Newcastle United, taking their tally to 28 points.

United are second with 27, followed by Manchester City and Arsenal on 26 and Tottenham Hotspur in fifth place on 24, with speculation beginning to build on whether Leicester can mount a realistic challenge for a top four finish.

And for once most of the spotlight will be on a Leicester player rather than a United one.

The man of the moment is Jamie Vardy who is seeking to score for an 11th successive Premier League match to break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record which he equalled last week.

Following their disappointing goalless draw with PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday which leaves their Champions League qualification still in doubt, United will be keen to return to winning ways.

Yet with Leicester making the pace and with Manchester City and Arsenal both losing last weekend, this season’s title race is beginning to open up.

OBVIOUS ABSENTEES

The obvious absentees from the leading pack are Chelsea, who have made their worst start to a season since the 1970s when they yo-yoed between the top two divisions and are currently languishing in 15th place with 14 points.

No-one expects their poor run to last for much longer and according to manager Jose Mourinho, they are regaining their confidence after a 1-0 win over Norwich City last week and a 4-0 thrashing of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League on Wednesday.

But those games will be like genteel tea-parties compared to the hostile welcome awaiting them for Sunday’s noon derby kickoff against in-form Spurs at White Hart Lane, especially as Chelsea could be without captain John Terry who injured an ankle in Israel and is a major doubt.

Spurs beat Chelsea 5-3 at the Lane on New Year’s Day in one of the outstanding matches of last season, and Mauricio Pochettino’s men, like Leicester, have been widely praised for the way they have started the season, unbeaten in 12 matches since an opening day loss at Manchester United.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was keen to play down talk of a possible top four finish after they demolished West Ham Unuited 4-1 on Sunday.

Yet if they beat Chelsea, no easy task less than three days after a 5,000-mile round trip to face FK Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the Europa League on Thursday, they could be on their way to their highest league placing since finishing fourth in 2012.

While Spurs seek to stay in touch with the leaders, so will Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool, who were superb in their 4-1 demolition of Manchester City last week.

They face Bordeaux in the Europa League on Thursday before meeting ailing Swansea City who have slid down the table after one win in nine, putting pressure on manager Garry Monk.

Manchester City, coming off their Liverpool hammering and a 1-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League, will be looking to bounce back by beating Southampton, while Arsenal, beaten 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion before beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in the Champions League, travel to 16th-placed Norwich.

(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Ian Chadband)