Leicester City are facing the threat of relegation as part of a painful plummet for the team who won the Premier League seven years ago and have twice finished fifth since then.
Not since the opening day of the 2022/23 season have the floundering Foxes been higher than 11th, spending a combined 12 weeks so far in the bottom two.
Leicester are the fourth-most likely team to go down, according to FiveThirtyEight, which paints a bleak picture of City's chances of saving themselves.
Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has been entrusted with leading them to safety, overseeing a coaching team including former England defender John Terry.
Premier League table: The relegation battle
Updated as of Sunday, April 16, 2023
| Pos | Team | Points | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Next Match | Relegation probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | Crystal Palace | 36 | 31 | 31 | -9 | vs. EVE, April 22 | <1% |
| 13. | Wolves | 34 | 31 | 26 | -16 | @ LEI, April 22 | 2% |
| 14. | Bournemouth | 33 | 31 | 31 | -28 | vs. WHU, April 23 | 4% |
| 15. | West Ham | 31 | 30 | 29 | -12 | @ BOU, April 23 | 4% |
| 16. | Leeds United | 29 | 30 | 39 | -15 | vs. LIV, April 17 | 18% |
| 17. | Everton | 27 | 31 | 24 | -22 | @ CRY, April 22 | 57% |
| 18. | Nott'm Forest | 27 | 31 | 24 | -32 | @ LIV, April 22 | 82% |
| 19. | Leicester City | 25 | 31 | 41 | -14 | vs. WOL, April 22 | 40% |
| 20. | Southampton | 23 | 31 | 24 | -29 | @ ARS, April 21 | 91% |
* = The bottom three teams are relegated to the second-tier Championship.
When were Leicester City last relegated from Premier League?
Leicester last suffered relegation in 2003/04, when manager Micky Adams had led them to promotion but could not keep the club up.
An initial run of one win in 10 games suggested there was trouble ahead and an even worse sequence of one victory in 22 matches, spanning almost five months between December and May, condemned Adams' squad to relegation.
Starting with a 15th-placed Championship finish, Leicester continued to struggle until they were eventually relegated again at the end of the 2007/08 season, although they returned in style by winning the third tier — League One — in 2008/09.
Their four subsequent years in the Championship were much more promising, reaching the playoff semifinals twice and never finishing lower than 10th.
The 2013/14 season was a spectacular one at the King Power Stadium, culminating in the Championship title with an impressive haul of 102 points. Just two years later, they became Premier League champions.
How many times have Leicester City been relegated?
Leicester have been relegated from the English top flight on 11 occasions, only playing in a division lower than the second tier during that 2008/09 season.
From the club's first recorded season in 1890/91, Leicester suffered their first demotion in 1909 and it took them until 1925 to return to the top tier.
There was a brief spell in the second division between 1935 and 1937, then a more sustained stay that was extended by Leicester having the misfortune of being relegated from the top division in the final season before English football stopped because of World War Two.
Overall, Leicester have spent 55 seasons in the top tier and 62 a division below. The 2010s were the first decade in which Leicester were not relegated from the top division.
MORE: Updated top scorers table
Will Leicester be relegated in 2022/23?
Leicester have had a dismal season and were in the worst form of any Premier League team with seven games remaining, collecting a single point from their seven most recent matches.
Former boss Brendan Rodgers' reign had been characterised by stability and success during his tenure of more than four years at the club, only to be spoiled by a sustained nosedive during his final season that led to Leicester sacking the former Celtic and Liverpool manager at the start of April.
An nine-game winless run might not inspire confidence, but much could hinge on the impact of the experienced Smith and whether Leicester can capitalise on a reasonable run-in.
Home games against fellow strugglers Wolves, Everton and West Ham — the Hammers visit Leicester on the final day of the season — look likely to be make-or-break and provide opportunities to decide their destiny directly at the expense of relegation rivals.
Leicester could also target points from away games against Leeds United and Fulham. Their penultimate home match, against Liverpool, and final away encounter at Newcastle United look like being their trickiest tests.
Several of their players, including the likes of Jonny Evans, Harvey Barnes, James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy, have excelled in the Premier League during their careers and clearly offer the experience and quality Leicester need to secure safety. They now urgently need to show that across the remainder of the season.
Leicester remaining match schedule
| Match | Date | Opponent | Home/ Away |
Position | Relegation probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | April 15 | @ Man. City | A | 19th | 49% |
| 32 | April 22 | vs. Wolves | H | ||
| 33 | April 25 | @ Leeds | H | ||
| 34 | April 29 | vs. Everton | H | ||
| 35 | May 8 | @ Fulham | A | ||
| 36 | May 15 | vs. Liverpool | H | ||
| 37 | May 20 | @ Newcastle | A | ||
| 38 | May 28 | vs. West Ham | H |