Premier League review: The day Leicester City won the title?

Leicester City moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 1-0 victory over Southampton.

The free beer Leicester City fans received courtesy of the chairman’s birthday at the start of the game likely wasn’t the only one they enjoyed on Sunday.

Just 12 short months ago, Leicester were seven points adrift of safety sat at the foot of the Premier League table. A year later, they have defied logic and sit seven clear at the top of the table. It’s one of the most stunning turnarounds in soccer history.

With a tight 1-0 victory over Southampton, the Foxes pulled seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League, and they now have one hand firmly on the trophy.

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It will require the most dramatic of collapses for Leicester not to go on to lift the Premier League crown for the first time in their history, and manager Claudio Ranieri could be doing it at Stamford Bridge — home of Chelsea, where he was sacked in 2004. How sweet would it be fore Ranieri to take Chelsea’s title from them in front of their own fans?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here though, as the Foxes still have six games to play. Four victories would guarantee the title is theirs, but in reality it will require far less.

Spurs are the only team capable of catching Leicester, but a seven-point differential is surely too much to overturn at this juncture. Tottenham still has games with Manchester United, Chelsea and Stoke to come — none of which are guaranteed victories.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team would almost certainly need to take the maximum 18 points from their remaining games and hope Leicester are held to 11 or fewer. That’s a tall order for any team to do, especially given Tottenham’s run-in. Spurs are capable of achieving the tough task — just a few weeks ago they saw a six-game winning stretch end.

But looking at Leicester’s remaining opponents, it’s hard to see them dropping seven points.

Next up is a trip to Sunderland, who have won only once in their past 10 games. Following this awaits West Ham, which won’t be easy, but a home game against Swansea gives them a good chance to bounce back. If Leicester can come through the next three with six points, they will be very pleased.

The only way the Foxes can realistically lose the title is with four of their final five, which are highlighted below in bold:

Sunderland vs. Leicester (April 10)
Leicester vs. West Ham (April 17)
Leicester vs. Swansea (April 24)
Manchester United vs. Leicester (May 1)
Leicester vs. Everton (May 7)
Chelsea vs. Leicester (May 15)

Assuming they defeat Sunderland and Swansea, one win from those four tough games would all but wrap up the Premier League crown.

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The title race isn’t over just yet, but it’s tough to envision any scenario other than the most shocking of league wins in English soccer history.

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