PREVIEW: Leicester City face relegation at home to Hull

PREVIEW: Leicester City face relegation at home to Hull

In what has been an absolute disaster of a season that has summed up years of mismanagement and turmoil, former Premier League Champions, Champions league quarter-finalists and FA Cup winners Leicester City are staring down the barrel of relegation tonight as they host Hull City in what is simply do or die for the Foxes.

Tonight’s game is simply do or die for Leicester City; Rowett’s side absolutely have to win, or it will be League One football being played at the King Power stadium. The disarray on the pitch and in the boardroom has taken its toll on the Foxes, and it really is desperate times.

Following a 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth on Saturday, which means they can’t catch Pompey in the table, heated clashes between players and fans summed up the situation Leicester find themselves in. A victory for West Brom later that afternoon meant the writing was all but on the wall for Gary Rowett’s side.

Saturday’s results mean that in order for Leicester to avoid the drop, they’d need to win all of their last three games (something they haven’t managed to do all year) and hope that both Blackburn, Charlton and West Brom fail to gain a single point in their remaining fixtures, given how both West Brom and 22nd placed Oxford both have to play bottom side Sheffield Wednesday in their remaining games, that is looking like a tall order to say the least.

With all of the eyes being on Leicester and what this game could mean for them, it can be easy to forget that tonight’s game is a huge chance for Hull City to realise their play-off potential. A win over the Foxes could put Hull just a point behind fifth-placed Middlesbrough and five points ahead of Wrexham in seventh. Sergej Jankovic’s side have been nothing but consistent this season and have flirted with the play-offs relentlessly.

However, their form has taken a slight dip in recent weeks, with just one win in their last five games, which has spoiled what could have been lots of chances to really cement themselves in the top six; however, thanks to their consistency, they are still in a healthy position. A 1-1 draw with Birmingham last time out will have been disappointing, but they have the chance to make up for dropped points away from home, where they are particularly strong.

Leicester have been relatively injury-free throughout the season, which makes the situation they’re in that much more baffling. Midfielder Jordan James won the EFL young player of the season award yesterday, which shows just how impactful he’s been on a sinking ship. The Welshman is expected to return to the fold after making his first cameo in weeks against Portsmouth.