SportsRooter.com

It is a fact that would take a lot of time to register in one's mind. With odds of 5000/1 to win the Premier league title at the start of the season and most of the so called experts predicting them to fail under their new manager, it has hardly surprising to see the disbelief at the fact that Leicester City are the new Premier league champions.

Leicester City win Premier League title after Tottenham draw at Chelsea

It is ironical to state that former Premier league champions Chelsea played their heart out in order to salvage a draw against Tottenham to make Leicester the new champions. It was a tribute to their former manager, who was ridiculed in his last spell as a manager in the Premier league.

From being sacked as Greece manager to winning the Premier league title with relegation contenders in the space of few months, Ranieri has completed one of the most remarkable achievements in sporting history.

Ranieri certainly brought about certain changes to his management style, which was crucial to Leicester winning the title. The Italian was known as the Tinkerman during his spell at Chelsea, due to the various changes he made to the starting line up on a regular basis.

Leicester City won the Premier League 🏆

Congratulations 😎👌🔥🏆 #LCFC pic.twitter.com/Y0Qoq6qfxt

— SportsRooter.com (@SportsRooter) May 2, 2016

However, this season, he has made only around 27 changes to the starting line up and has kept a very steady eleven throughout the campaign. Former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker, who played under the Italian when at Chelsea, also pointed out this important fact.

This is an event where David has certainly beaten Goliath, where the bridesmaid has finally become the bride. It may happen that Leicester may falter next season. But even the most ardent Leicester fans would not care about next season. This is a time for them to embrace this event, to get inspired by it and revel in it until it has sunk in completely.

Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy has accepted the charge put by the FA over the dissent shown by him towards referee Jon Moss, when the referee booked him for the second time for simulation in the game against West Ham.

Jamie Vardy accepts FA charge and will miss Swansea and Manchester United

Vardy was furious with the decision given by the referee which provoked him to abuse Moss while leaving the pitch. Vardy was earlier booked for a foul on Kouyate. The incident happened around 56 minutes, when Leicester were leading 1-0 in the game.

According to referee Moss, Vardy theatrically dived on contact with Ogbonna, a contact which the forward initiated. The decision could have serious repercussions on the title bid of the Foxes. Vardy is due to miss the game against Swansea. However, since he has accepted the charge, he is very much in contention to miss the game against United as well.

With Tottenham just five points behind them and very much on the up, the possibility of the title bid of the Foxes getting derailed is not an unlikely scenario. Vardy has asked for a personal hearing, which is slated for Monday.

Earlier in the season, Diego Costa was charged with an additional suspension along with a warning to his future conduct  for a similar misconduct in the FA Cup quarterfinal game against Everton.

The goal scoring form of Vardy may have dipped in the new year but no one can argue about the fact that the striker has played a pivotal role in making Leicester a Premier league title challenger this season.

Vardy in talks over new Leicester contract

Hence, it is not a surprise that the club has offered a new deal for Vardy which would make him stay at the club till 2019. The England International has still around two years left on his contract and such a move would help to eradicate the rumors surrounding the sale of their in-form striker to a bigger club.

Vardy had broken the record of Nistelrooy last year by scoring in 11 consecutive matches in the Premier league. As a result, he was linked with a large amount of top clubs including the likes of Chelsea.

However, there was no move of such kind in the January transfer window, much to the relief of manager Claudio Ranieri.

Hence, the signing of a new deal would certainly help the club to tie their best players to the club for a longer duration.

This would also provide a massive shot in the arm in their quest of achieving that Champions league spot, which is certainly a target for the club on a more realistic term.

The signing of Alexandre Pato on loan by Chelsea has clearly paved the way for the move of Loic Remy out of the club. The French International who was quite instrumental in the title win of Chelsea in the last campaign has struggled for minutes under both Hiddink and Mourinho this season.

Chelsea are planning to use Loic Remy as a makeweight to sign Jamie Vardy.

It was reported that Remy very much interested his former employer Newcastle United. However, there are reports currently stating that Leicester City want to sign the former QPR striker in order to provide a much needed boost to their Premier league title challenge.

However, it seems that Chelsea will sell the striker to City only if they get Vardy in return. The current deal offered for Remy was around £7.5 million. But it seems highly unlikely that Leicester would sell their star forward in this campaign in order to land Remy.

Leicester have been in outstanding form this season. If not the title, they are certainly serious contenders for the Champions league spot. Ranieri will certainly try to keep his main players in this transfer window but he also realizes that Leicester may have a thin squad compared to the teams in the top half of the table.

However, he can hope the signing of Pato may have unsettled Remy and it will force Chelsea to offload their striker.

The game of Leicester City against United was a top two clash. However, the game will be known for another reason and that is the fabulous record of Jamie Vardy, who has now scored in his last 11 premier league games. The meteoric rise of this young man only makes it special with even the England manager Roy Hodgson happy to witness that feat.

Jamie Vardy scored in a record-breaking 11th successive Premier League game for Leicester City in 1-1 draw with Manchester United

It was only perfect to see Vardy score his history making goal in typical Vardy style. Ranieri has adopted a very effective counter attacking approach this season with his team. In the build up to Vardy's goal, that particular approach was clearly visible. The fact that United , who normally are quite organized , conceded the goal by a counter attacking move  which began from their corner kick is quite ironical. Vardy made an excellent run across both the defenders and fired it into the net to send the stadium into delirium.

However, poor defending from a corner led Leicester to concede just before the stroke of half time. Okazaki made a mess of marking Schweinsteiger who proved too strong for him. It was the German International's first goal for the club but even Manchester United fans would be forgiven if they remember this game for Vardy's goal. United were much better in the second half and moved the ball at a much faster pace.

Although United looked like the most likely to score in the second half, it was the Leicester substitute Ulloa who made the best opportunity to put them in front. There was no surprise about that chance once again being created by a great counter attacking move. De Gea once again, this season, saving United from the blushes with a good and important save.

In the end both the teams were happy to share the spoils. Ranieri would be happy with his team's efforts against one of the league's heavyweights and on the balance of play it can be regarded as a fair result.

The match between Leicester City and United this weekend would be a clash between the top two in the Premier League. No one would have expected this game as a top of the table clash in the month of November.

Leicester City vs Manchester United - Preview

In spite of that, the match would be more awaited for the record of current headline grabber Jamie Vardy who has equaled former United star Ruud Van Nistelrooy's feat of scoring in 10 consecutive premier league games. Although he may not be regarded in the same class as Nistelrooy, it would be great to see a premier league record of this stature being broken by a player who not so long ago played for Fleetwood Town. It would be even sweeter doing it against Manchester United.

Once the focus has been removed from Vardy, it can be inferred that this game is of immense importance for Louis Van Gaal. United were tepid in their game against PSV Eindhoven and the score line of 0-0 delineates that perfectly. The fact that the presence of both Martial and Rooney did not help the team was a matter of concern. With their Champions League qualification hanging in the balance, the game against Leicester has become even more vital for LVG. However, LVG has some injuries to deal with. Herrera and Jones join the treatment room along with the other long term absentees

On the other hand, the skepticism around Ranieri's appointment just a few months ago just looks laughable by every passing week. Leicester City are in dreamland at the moment with some of their key players like Mahrez and Vardy responding to the tactics of Ranieri perfectly. Although, United have not been the best in attack, their defence is the best in the land. Although Leicester did enjoy an emphatic win against Newcastle in their previous game, it would be prove a big test for them to score past this United defence.

The game on Saturday evening, however, should be an engaging battle with one of the leagues' entertainers against one of the league's pragmatists.

Leicester City Starting lineup:
Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Huth, Schlupp, Mahrez, Albrighton, Drinkwater, Vardy, Okazaki, King.

Manchester United Starting lineup:
De Gea, Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Lingard, Martial, Rooney.

Predicted Score:

Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United

Jamie Vardy scored his 13th goal of the season against Newcastle at St. James Park on Saturday and equaled Van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in 10 consecutive Premier League games.

Jamie Vardy

Vardy’s steady rise in this season has won him England caps and he is also in the contention to make it to the Euro finals next year. Vardy overshadowed his last year’s performance by scoring 13 goals in 13 games this season.

Jamie Vardy’s goal scoring form has also helped Leicester to top the league standings. Leicester has lost only one match in this campaign, but their nerves will be tested from now on as they face the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in these coming weeks.

The England striker is enjoying his form and he has also attracted the interest of top flight English and European clubs. Many pundits tipped Vardy to leave Leicester in the January transfer window.