Leicester City

This year's battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League looks set to go right to the wire, with last season's relegated sides Leicester, Leeds and Southampton trying to bounce straight back. However, Kieran McKenna's Ipswich are currently top of a four-way fight.

BBC Sport has examined the run-in and Opta's predictions for the final league table.

At the turn of the year Enzo Maresca's Leicester looked certain to bounce straight back up to the Premier League, topping the Championship table with a 13-point gap over third-place Southampton.

But after the Saints' win over Preston on Tuesday, four teams are involved with just a handful of games to go.

According to Opta, the Foxes have a 62% chance of winning the title and 84% of sealing promotion. Ipswich have a 62% chance of securing back-to-back promotions, according to Opta.

Southampton are predicted to get 89 points, with two of their final four games away at Leicester and Leeds.

Read the full lowdown on the Championship promotion battle

Image source, Getty Images

Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been further explaining his comment on the "casual arrogance" some of the players showed during the defeat to Plymouth Argyle, on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast.

"I don't know if they are the players who have been promised by their agents that they will move on at the end of the season, so they have allowed this complacency to come in and that bit of arrogance," Piper said.

"I don't like to pick players out but Wout Faes' performance was definitely one of those. It was like he thought that he could stroll around and get it done.

"I don't know if it was the fact that he thinks he is moving on after this season, or if it is the fact that we are playing 19th and 20th in the table, I'm too good for this, and we will come back into this game and be able to win it by strolling about.

"The reason why people say the Championship is one of the hardest leagues is because you don't win football matches if you turn up with that kind of attitude. Everyone grafts."

Piper also suggested Enzo Maresca could have utilised some of his other squad members earlier in the season, after the Foxes boss commented on the "busy schedule" in the Championship: "It has been a long old season. We know it is gruelling.

"The manager is complaining about the schedule, the amount of games and stuff, but he has got a brilliant squad.

"The first time I really said that was the other night, because you don't want to get after a gaffer that is top of the table and was on for a history-making total not so long ago, but you have to say it how it is. He has got a brilliant squad.

"He utilised it earlier on in the season and that really worked for him. He has now settled on these 13 or 14 players, which I get because they are the best 13 or 14 players, especially in the system that Enzo plays.

"But you can't then moan about the schedule - change it up, rely on those other players to help you out earlier on in the season.

"I still think we will do it. I still think that we will go up. I'm not pure doom and gloom.

"I still believe in the players and I still hugely believe in the manager."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Let me take you back to just before 17:00 on Sunday, 28 May 2023.

We had just beaten West Ham, but Everton beating Bournemouth meant Leicester City were relegated.

Looking at the club then, not many of us held out much hope for an instant return to the Premier League.

The Foxes were managerless and had a squad that could not even win a rock, paper, scissors game and who were mostly out of contract.

There was, despite the club anthem, nothing to smile about.

Then Enzo Maresca came through the door from left field. He let the dead wood go, sold some of the players to bring in money and brought in replacements and more.

Then, to all of our surprise, we actually started winning matches.

It was a different style, yes. It was a style that some did not like. But we were top of the league and looking odds-on to go straight back up.

But I kept asking: when will we have our blip? Oh how I wish I had kept my mouth shut.

From having one team 17 points clear at the top of the table, it now seems no team wants an automatic passage to the top flight. It has become a series of 'we lose, they lose' scenarios.

From a neutral perspective, it must be very exciting. The problem is, I'm not a neutral.

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

Leicester City defender Conor Coady says they are not concentrating on the other promotion chasing teams around them and their focus is just on themselves.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, he said "it is natural" for footballers to look at results around them but "it 100% affects you" too.

"We have spoke as a team over the last week and said the results we have had at Leicester are the only thing that matters and we should not concentrate on all the others," said Coady.

"We can not affect what anybody else is doing. So we looked at ourselves and have gone right, it is us and that is it and we focus on ourselves.

"When you get to this end of the season, you are within touching distance of what you want to get and what you are desperate for. It is what you have worked all season for.

"You can have managers and you can have people around you going ‘don't look at that' or 'don't check’ but it is100% a natural thing to do. You have just got to make sure you are doing your job when it comes to training and playing.

"We are fighting every single day with ourselves in training to make sure we take that jump and take what we believe we are deserved after this season."

Watch the Monday Night Club on BBC iPlayer or listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City were dealt another blow to their automatic promotion hopes as they lost to Plymouth Argyle, suffering back-to-back defeats for just the fourth time this season.

Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been reacting to the scenes after the 1-0 defeat on the When You're Smiling podcast: "The players are walking over to the 1,700 [supporters] who have travelled. There are a lot [of people] who have stayed to clap the team. I think there is a few in there that are asking the question: where do we go from here?

"The players are going right up to the front of the crowd. James Justin is there at the front. There is a lot of arm waving.

"It is not a great sight. Not many of the other players have gone over, they have gone straight down the tunnel like they are embarrassed. Especially in that second half, that is the right feeling. They should feel that. I don't think they should feel proud of that performance.

"You have 1,700 travelling Leicester fans who won't get home until 4am. They have spent an absolute fortune to come and watch you, and it was just more of the same - those real poor performances we have been seeing lately.

Piper also commented on the "casual arrogance" that he believes some players showed at Home Park: "It is no good anymore praising this team for playing 'attractive football' between both penalty areas, because they just keep losing football matches. The longer you keep doing that, you don't deserve to go back up to the Premier League.

"Enzo [Maresca] is going to have to work incredibly hard with this group to try to regain the confidence.

"We looked lethargic most of the night. I thought there was a casual arrogance in certain players' performances - they thought they would just turn up to 20th in the table Plymouth Argyle and roll them over. That wasn't the case.

"They [Plymouth Argyle] showed a lot more fight, a lot more passion and a lot more desire to stay in the league than we did to go and win the league. When that happens, you lose football matches, and it is not good enough."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Tottenham are tracking Leicester City's English midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and could sign the 25-year-old for between £30m and £40m this summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Aaron Paul, ex-Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff and Wycombe defender Joe Jacobson discuss the Championship promotion race and much more from the English Football League on the latest episode of the BBC's Football Daily 72+ podcast.

Listen now on BBC Sounds

On the latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined by former Foxes striker Matty Fryatt and journalist Josh Holland to preview Friday's game at Plymouth Argyle.

There are also interviews with Enzo Maresca and Ricardo Pereira.

"Leeds and Ipswich failing to win [in midweek] - they can use that as motivation for Friday to go four points clear at the top," said Holland.

"It's a positive to play first. I'd like to think they've learned from Tuesday, analysed it and realised how they can avoid a repeat at Plymouth on Friday.

"I think we'll need definitely two - maybe three - more wins to secure promotion."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Former Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt has been discussing Leicester's 1-0 loss at Millwall on Tuesday on the latest When You're Smiling podcast.

Ryan Longman's solo strike was enough to win the game for Millwall, but the Foxes remain top of the Championship for now, as a result of Leeds United only managing to draw at home to Sunderland.

"The change in formation didn't quite suit us. Yunus [Akgun] is different to Issahaku . In the dying stages, pace scares the life out of defenders and that wasn't quite there until the change," said Fryatt.

"If you're playing Wilfred Ndidi on that side he's going to run beyond and that wasn't going on because Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] was in behind Jamie Vardy.

"Ricardo Pereira can't always be bombing forward. The goal comes from his side on the break. I'm not saying that it was attributed to him in any way. But, he can't be the one bombing forward if Yunus receives to make that run in behind.

"It was congested in the middle. [Millwall's] shape was good - two banks of four and the front two were working hard."

On whether this result adds more pressure on the Foxes: "The away form needs addressing.

"But, they're in a strong position. They still sit above everyone else. At one point, Leeds looked like they were really going to kick on, but they're feeling the pressures as well.

"Football is a wonderful, frustrating, unpredictable game. It just keeps on compounding itself."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca says he will rotate his side for tonight's trip to Millwall as he looks to manage a run of three games in seven days against relegation-threatened sides.

The Foxes returned to the Championship summit with Saturday's win over Birmingham and will face Plymouth on Friday as the title race reaches its climax.

Maresca has a near fully-fit squad at his disposal with youngsters Tom Cannon and Ben Nelson both pushing to be available after being sidelined at the weekend.

"Yeah, absolutely, for sure we’re going to make rotation," Maresca said in his pre-match news conference.

"We have three games in one week. It’s not easy. We’re going to make some rotation for sure. We’re going to try to manage a bit the energy."

Millwall themselves are just two points above the drop zone and the Italian manager is well aware of the threat posed clubs fighting for survival.

"Until the end, for us but for all the clubs, every game is important because every team is playing for some target," he added.

"When you are playing to survive, it’s always a boost. We need to be ready for Tuesday, it will be a battle for sure, with long balls and second balls.

"If we are not ready, we can struggle."

Brian Clough once said: "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." These days you could swap "paper" for "Fifa".

I was not very good at it. I would often run the ball out of play or pass the ball to the opposing keeper instead of shooting.

Well, Mads Hermansen had one of those moments against Birmingham City at the weekend, gifting them an equaliser.

However, Enzo Maresca apparently told him at half-time if he changed his style of play because of that mistake he would be substituted.

We soon heard the cries of, "well, we shouldn’t play it out from the back" and, "we aren't Manchester City so why are we playing the Pep way?"

But this is not a modern day phenomenon.

"Chris Wood nets bizarre goal for Leicester" was the headline; 2 November 2013 was the date. Leicester beating Watford 3-0 was the game.

Wood scored when an attempted clearance from Hornets goalkeeper Manuel Almunia struck him flush in the face and rebounded into the empty net.

I could not even have done that on Fifa! So you see, mistakes in football have always happened, it is just we can laugh when it is for the opposing team.

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

Image source, Getty images

Stoke City's on loan goalkeeper Daniel Iversen says he doesn't know where his future lies beyond this season.

The Danish stopper, who moved across from Leicester City in January, has made 14 appearances for Steven Schumacher's side.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Iversen said he'd asked Leicester if he could leave the club last summer:

"I thought I should go [in the summer] and that's not happened from the Leicester side, I don't know why, I was disappointed.

"I tried to get a loan and I got a no, tried to get sold and got a no, so it was a bit frustrating from my side."

Although his future is unknown, the 26-year-old who has started the last eight games for Stoke says his priority is keeping the club in the Championship:

"In the summer I will try to leave again and see if something happens, but I don't know where it's going to be. My focus is just to play here and help the team survive"

Would you like to keep Daniel Iversen next season? Let us know your thoughts here.

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich Town, Leeds United and Leicester City are separated by two points at the top of the Championship - which teams will "hold their nerve" in the closing weeks of the season to win promotion to the Premier League?

The top two have six games remaining, while the third-placed Foxes have what could prove to be a pivotal game in hand on their title rivals.

Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff told the BBC's 72+ podcast: "You've still got three [contenders] that are so difficult to call in terms of who will get over the line to be the top two. And also the team who doesn't, what impact that will have for them going into the play-offs."

Cambridge striker Lyle Taylor added: "I feel Ipswich are in a really strong position - they've got points on the board. Leicester have a game in hand, which will come into play. I do feel like Leicester have possibly got the upper hand.

"We haven't seen a title race like this in years in the Championship and this is going to go right down to the wire because Ipswich just never, ever die.

"Who is going to hold their nerve? Who has got the most experience, or will the youthful exuberance of an Ipswich side carry them over the line? I can't see past Leicester - that's my view."

McAnuff continued: "If I was those three teams, I would want Leeds' run-in, for sure.

"The energy, feeling and belief is with Ipswich and Leeds at the moment. I look at Leicester's fixtures and the next three are massive. If they can beat Birmingham, Millwall and Plymouth - all teams at the wrong end of the table - the psychological impact then comes back around to what it looks like for those last three or four games."

Listen to the full podcast, including an interview with Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, on BBC Sounds

Leicester are in a situation where they might be docked points and it is concerning.

You could see they had financial difficulties last season, yet they were trying to sign a lot of people whilst going down into the Championship. That is what surprised me.

You can not ignore the background noise as a player because you are wondering what is going to happen and what your future is.

They will be questioning whether they can still get promoted and if they will be allowed to play in the Premier League.

When I was at Portsmouth, we were told the night before a game that the club is no more. Points do not even come into practise when a club is finished whilst still being in the Premier League.

Every day I dealt with the administrators and it was a very sad time, with all the staff and players wondering if they were going to get paid.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are some more of your views after Leicester City published their latest accounts for the 2022-23 season:

Stew: FFP feels like it has been set up to stop 'smaller' clubs from competing. How can you budget properly when the financial rewards are so vast? A team like Leicester, striving for European football, ended up instead being relegated. You have to spend to compete. When your revenue isn’t as expected, you still have to pay those wages.

Wayne: It was and is the 'perfect storm'. Every element adding up to a free fall. Things could also get a lot worse if we don't get promoted. We flew so high. Id' still much rather have experienced this past 12 years or so than mediocrity. I hope Top will deal with the areas that need addressing, and we can trust him.

David: Key point for me is the double whammy of Brendan Rodgers. First, he was oblivious to the defensive and set-piece problems that caused the failures and our demise, and then the cost of removing him and his staff. Always overpriced and overrated.

Sandra: I am horrified by the losses. Is this down to Khun Top's young age and lack of experience? I don't think we would have seen the huge losses under Khun Vichai's leadership. I think it's time Whelan, and probably Ruskin, stand down to eb replaced by people who can keep a proper check on the finances.

Jamie: Genuinely disgraceful management of the club from Top and the board. Years of giving massive wages to average players was always going to come back to bite. We could all see it happening. Pair that with Rodgers and co running it into the ground and we deserve everything we get. Time for King Power to sell and give us our club back.

PC: The club knows the rules. Whether you agree or disagree, this is gross mismanagement of funds. I hope those responsible on the financial side are punished accordingly.