Leicester Odds

Leicester City Odds

Following Leicester City’s shock Premier League title, odds for Leicester to win the Premier League have become more sought after. These odds are also subject to bookmaker enhanced odds offers and money back specials.

Leicester City qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history following their Premier League win. Leicester odds on the Champions League were commonly bet on, either as outright winner bets, group winner bets or match winner bets.

With every possible outcome in the Premier League covered by odds, there are available Leicester odds for relegation, though following their title win these odds are obviously a lot longer than they were the season before.

History

Leicester City are based in England and play in the Premier League. They won the Premier League title in 2016, and have spent five consecutive seasons in the top flight. They are also one of only two teams to have played in the third tier of English football and subsequently win the Premier League.

The history of Leicester City begins in 1884. Members of Wyggeston School formed a football team and called themselves Leicester Fosse. Five different home ground were used by the team before the move to the famous Filbert Street in 1901, including Victoria Park and the Belgrave Road Cricket and Bicycle Grounds.

The club joined the Football Association in 1890, and were awarded a place in the Football League in 1894.

The club’s first ever game resulted in a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Grimsby Town, followed by their first game at Filbert Street, a win against Rotherham United.

The club spent a total of 14 seasons in the Second Division, and in the 1907/1908 season Leicester achieved promotion. Unfortunately for Leicester, their time in the top flight lasted for only one season, and they were relegated.

12 consecutive seasons were spent in the second tier, during which time the club changed its name from Leicester Fosse to Leicester City, following Leicester being awarded city status.

The 1924/1925 season saw Leicester win the Second Division title, and with it a return to the top flight. This time, Leicester’s stay in the First Division lasted longer, and the club went on to enjoy ten consecutive seasons in England’s top tier.

The end of the 1930’s saw two relegations and one promotion. After finishing 21st in the First Division table, the club were sent down. Two seasons later though, the club won another Second Division title, and reclaimed their place in the First Division. Again, though, this only lasted for a short time, two seasons later Leicester were relegated again and become a second tier side once more.

The Football League was suspended due to the Second World War, as it had been for the First World War, and football resumed for the 1946/1947 season. The club struggled in the Second Division, though a highlight of this period was the club reaching its first ever FA Cup final in 1949, although they lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The turn of the 1950’s saw Leicester improve, and in the 1953/1954 season the club won their third Second Division championship. Their top flight status only lasted for one season, although they returned to the First Division after winning their fourth Second Division title in the 1956/1957 season.

This time, Leicester enjoyed 12 consecutive seasons in the First Division, their longest unbroken spell of seasons in the top flight in their history. Consolidating their status as a First Division side, the club also reached three more FA Cup finals, although they lost all three.

However, this period did see the club win their first major trophy. In 1964, the club won the League Cup, beating Stoke 4-3 on aggregate.

Success wasn’t to last though, and in the season they reached their third FA Cup final of the 1960’s, beaten by Manchester City, the club suffered relegation yet again and returned to the Second Division.

Their time away from the top flight lasted only a short time, and within two years they were back after picking up yet another Second Division title. They also won the Charity Shield, after replacing Arsenal in the fixture due to the Gunners’ European commitments.

In terms of Leicester league history, the 1970’s were mostly an uneventful period. Other than an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1974, the club were not performing particularly well, and in 1978 Leicester were relegated once more.

Over the next six years, Leicester City saw two promotions and a relegation. Winning the Second Division title in 1980 was followed by immediate relegation in 1981. Two season later, Leicester achieved promotion once again, but after just four seasons in the top flight, they suffered another relegation.

Four seasons went past in the Second Division before Leicester had two chances to win promotion. In the 1991/1992 season, Leicester reached the play-off final only to be beaten by Blackburn Rovers. The following season, Leicester got to the play-off final again, but yet again Leicester were beaten, this time by Swindon Town. 

However, it was third time lucky for Leicester as in the 1993/1994 season, they finally won a play-off final, beating Derby County and earning themselves a place in the newly founded Premier League.

Their first period of time in the Premier League lasted for just one season, and Leicester were relegated back to the second tier, by this time called Division One. However, they booked an immediate return to the Premier League with another play-off victory beating Crystal Palace in the final.

This time, their Premier League stay lasted a little longer. Martin O’Neill became the Leicester manager and he led the club to League Cup glory twice in three seasons while maintaining Leicester’s Premier League status. However, when O’Neill left to become manager of Celtic, the club began to drop down the table and the club were relegated in the 2001/2002 season.

The 2002/2003 season began with a change of home for Leicester City. The club moved into the Walkers Stadium. Despite serious financial problems hitting the club during this time, the club won automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

Leicester, though, were relegated after just one season back in the top flight and started their 2004/2005 campaign in the second tier, now known as the Championship. 

In 2006, a successful takeover of the club was completed by Milan Mandaric, the former chairman of Portsmouth. However, following disputes between the various managers who came and went during this period with the new chairman, success was not forthcoming. In fact, Leicester were relegated in the 2007/2008 season to League One.

The 2008/2009 was Leicester’s first and only season outside of the top two divisions. Nigel Pearson was brought in as manager and he led the Leicester City revival. Immediate promotion followed and after five years in the Championship where new owners had taken over the club, the club won the title and were promoted back to the Premier League.

Leicester City survived that season, but it wasn’t enough for Pearson to keep hold of his job. In the summer of 2015, Pearson was replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

The 2015/2016 Premier League season will always be remembered. At the start of the campaign, Leicester were 5000/1 to win the Premier League title. The club were never mentioned as possible title contenders, but the biggest shock in Premier League history occurred when Leicester City won the Premier League. 

Crest

The current Leicester crest was introduced in 1992. This Leicester badge uses an image of a fox, based on the club’s nickname, on top of a plant used in the Leicester coat of arms. Sat inside a circular shape, the words ‘Leicester City Football Club’ fit round the circumference.

Before 1992, a shield crest was used. A different image of a fox sat inside the shield, with the club name printed on the outside.

For Leicester City’s 125th anniversary, the badge included ‘125 Years’ printed within a banner and placed underneath the standard Leicester badge.

Colours

Leicester City kit colours have generally stayed the same. Since 1899, the team has played in royal blue shirts, white shorts and royal blue socks. The colour of the shorts has changed over the years to make an all royal blue kit, with the colour of the socks alternating between blue and white as well.

Early Leicester City colours were completely different to the kit we know now. In Leicester’s first season, black shirts with a diagonal blue strip were worn, along with white shorts and black socks.

Between 1886 and 1890, Leicester City wore half blue half brown shirts, accompanied by white shorts and black socks.

From 1890 to 1899, the club played in white shirts with royal blue shorts and royal blue socks, before the change to what we know now as traditional Leicester City colours.

Leicester Stadium

The Leicester stadium is the King Power stadium. Known as the King Power for sponsorship reasons as the current club owners also own the King Power company, the club moved into this ground in 2002.

It was previously known as the Walkers Stadium. Walkers were the sponsors of the Leicester City kits, and signed a sponsorship deal to last until 2017. However, when the new owners took over the club, they bought the naming rights back.

In the club’s early history, Leicester played at various different grounds before moving to Filbert Street in 1891. This ground was to be Leicester’s home for 111 years.

Supporters

There are branches of the Leicester City supporters club across the globe. With fan clubs in Australia, Thailand and America, Leicester are becoming a global brand.

The most famous Leicester City supporters song is When You’re Smiling. The fans are known for being loyal to their club no matter what the results, proven when Leicester were recorded to have the third biggest following home and away when the club were playing second tier football. Even when the club were playing in League One, match attendances were always above 20,000.

Leicester City enjoy rivalries with a number of different clubs. Leicester’s main rivals are Nottingham Forest, and Derby County are another side who Leicester fans consider to be a rival. Coventry City are also classed as rivals, though this rivalry is not as fierce as those with Forest and Derby.

Ownership

Leicester City are owned by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his family. Vichai is also the chairman of the club, with his son holding the position of vice-chairman.

The family bought the club in 2010 from Milan Mandaric, who himself had bought Leicester in 2007. At first, Mandaric kept the position of chairman of Leicester City, but left the club and took up a similar position at Sheffield Wednesday.

The club’s finances are said to be healthy, following a period of time in the 1990’s and 2000’s when Leicester were facing serious financial problems. 

When Leicester City won the league in 2016, Vichai bought every member of the squad a £100,000 BMW.

Stats

Graham Cross is Leicester’s all time leading appearance maker. Cross played in 599 games for the club from 1960 to 1976.

Adam Black is the only other Leicester City player to have made more than 500 appearances. Black made 557 appearances for Leicester between 1920 and 1935.

Leicester’s all time leading goalscorer is Arthur Chandler. Chandler scored 273 goals for the club from 1923 to 1935. Chandler is one of only two players to have scored over 200 goals for Leicester City, the other being Arthur Rowley.

Rowley also holds the Leicester City record for the most goals scored in a single season. He scored 44 goals for the club in the 1956/1957 season.

Jamie Vardy holds the Leicester City record, and the Premier League record, for consecutive games scored in. Vardy scored in 11 successive Premier League games from August 2015 to November 2015 in the season in which Leicester City won the Premier League.

Leicester’s biggest ever win came in 1894. Leicester beat Notts Olympic 13-0 in an FA Cup tie. The club’s record league win occurred in 1928, when Leicester beat Portsmouth 10-0.

The club’s heaviest defeat came at the hands of rivals Nottingham Forest in 1909. Forest defeated Leicester 12-0.

Leicester City’s record of consecutive league victories stands at nine, achieved between December 2013 and February 2014.

Leicester’s all time highest attendance came at Filbert Street in 1928, when 47,298 spectators watched Leicester take on Tottenham Hotspur.

The record attendance at the King Power Stadium occurred in 2015, when a crowd of 32,242 saw Leicester host Sunderland.

Leicester City Players

The current crop of Leicester City players include a number of internationals, including England, Egypt, Denmark and Austrian international players.

A number of Leicester City players have won individual awards whilst playing for the Foxes. These include Riyad Mahrez, who won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016; Jamie Vardy, who won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 2016; and Gary Lineker, who won the English Golden Boot in the 1984/1985 season.

In 2016, four Leicester players were named in the PFA Team of the Year. These were Wes Morgan, N’Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.

The current Leicester player of the year is Harry Maguire, who won both the Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards. 

Many players have represented their countries at World Cup tournaments whilst playing their club football at Leicester City. These players include John Anderson, Willie Cunningham, Ken Leek, Gordon Banks, John O’Neill, Paul Ramsey, Gary McAllister, David Kelly, Matt Elliott, Kasey Keller, Muzzy Izzet, Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire, Kasper Schmeichel, Shinji Okazaki and Kelechi Iheanacho

Leicester City have also had four players inducted into the English Hall of Fame. These players are Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker and Frank McLintock.

Leicester City Manager

The current Leicester manager is Claude Puel. Puel took over in October 2017, replacing caretaker boss Michael Appleton, who in turn replaced Craig Shakespeare. Shakespeare is one of only five managers, and the only Englishman, to have won his first four Premier League matches.  

Claudio Ranieri was the man in charge when Leicester won their Premier League title. Ranieri had replaced Nigel Pearson, who managed the club between 2011 and 2015. Pearson stabilised Leicester City after the club went through seven managers in the space of four years.

Claudio Ranieri is the club’s most successful manager. The longest serving Leicester City manager is Matt Gillies, who held the position of manager for ten years from 1958 to 1968.

Up unitl September 2018, so far in his Leicester City managerial career Claude Puel has taken charge of 31 matches, winning 12, drawing ten and losing nine of his games, for a win percentage of 38.7%

Honours

The Leicester City honours list include one top tier title (Premier League 2016); seven second tier titles (1924/1925, 1936/1937, 1953/1954, 1956/1957, 1970/1971, 1979/1980 and 2013/2014); three League Cup titles (1964, 1997, 2000); and one FA Charity Shield (1971).

Leicester have also been runners-up in the FA Cup on four occasions (1949, 1961, 1963, 1969) and League Cup runners-up twice (1965, 1999).