Leicester have appointed former Nottingham Forest boss, Steve Cooper, as the new manager after Enzo Maresca’s departure to Chelsea. The Foxes now look well-set ahead of the 2024/25 season in the Premier League, but how will the club get on in the top flight? To answer that question, we’ll take a look at Leicester’s Premier League fixtures and specifically those at three crucial stages of the campaign: the first few games, the vital Christmas period and the run-in… which Foxes fans will hope doesn’t involve a nail-biting relegation battle. Again!
Obviously Leicester will have to play each of the other 19 Premier League sides home and away over the course of the season, but getting a good start, avoiding a festive slump and having a positive run-in could prove crucial to Leicester’s chances of staying up… or finishing significantly higher up the table. Let’s start by assessing Leicester’s odds of getting off to a racing start on their return to the top table of English football.
Note that fixture dates are subject to change.
Early Season Fixtures
| Date | Opponent | Home or Away? | Difficulty Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19th August 2024 | Tottenham Hotspur | Home | 7/10 |
| 24th August 2024 | Fulham | Away | 5/10 |
| 31st August 2024 | Aston Villa | Home | 7/10 |
| 14th September 2024 | Crystal Palace | Away | 6/10 |
| 21st September 2024 | Everton | Home | 4/10 |
| 28th September 2024 | Arsenal | Away | 10/10 |
It’s not exactly the easiest set of opening fixtures for the Foxes’ return to the EPL but it could be a lot worse. At least they start with a home match, but Spurs are no pushovers and they had a positive start to the 2023/24 campaign when they won four of their first five games. Notably, however, Spurs only managed a draw away at Bretford on the opening day last term, so perhaps Leicester could catch them cold.
Fulham away is certainly winnable and facing Villa on home turf gives the Foxes a fighting chance of a draw at least. Steve Cooper would be hopeful of four points at least from the games against Palace and Everton, and anything they can get against Arsenal at the Emirates would be a major (if unlikely) bonus.
Festive Fixture Frenzy
| Date | Opponent | Home or Away? | Difficulty Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14th December 2024 | Newcastle United | Away | 7/10 |
| 21st December 2024 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | 4/10 |
| 26th December 2024 | Liverpool | Away | 9/10 |
| 29th December 2024 | Manchester City | Home | 8/10 |
| 4th January 2025 | Aston Villa | Away | 8/10 |
If Foxes fans thought the season-opening fixtures were tricky, the festive period is going to look rather frightening. Newcastle away in the midst of winter will not be easy, although the Magpies lost to Forest on home soil last term on Boxing Day. Wolves at home should result in three points for Leicester, but the Foxes would probably be grateful of two or more points from the next three games against Liverpool, champions Man City and Aston Villa. The Villans have been improving steadily under Unai Emery and last term they beat plenty of decent sides on home soil, not least the teams who finished first and second: Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Run-In
| Date | Opponent | Home or Away? | Difficulty Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26th April 2025 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Away | 5/10 |
| 3rd May 2025 | Southampton | Home | 1/10 |
| 10th May 2025 | Nottingham Forest | Away | 4/10 |
| 18th May 2025 | Ipswich Town | Home | 2/10 |
| 25th May 2025 | Bournemouth | Away | 5/10 |
Although the Foxes won’t want to rely on a decent run-in to avoid the drop, at least the final few games of the season look eminently winnable. Much may depend on how many of these teams are embroiled in their own battles for survival, but if – for example – Leicester need nine points from their final five Premier League matches, they’d certainly feel they had at least a chance of achieving that.
Wolves away can be an unpredictable fixture but it’s not a particularly intimidating one compared to many in the top flight and the Foxes should get a point at least. Southampton at home might prove to be Leicester’s easiest game of the season (on paper at least) given they hammered the Saints twice in the Championship last term: 5-0 on home soil and 4-1 on the road.
A derby match against Forest could get feisty if both sides need the points, but we’d still back Cooper’s men to edge it against his former club. We’d fancy them to get the three points against Ipswich at home (despite drawing twice with the Tractor Boys in the league last term). Finally, Leicester face a trip to the South Coast to round off the season and they won’t be too scared of that given the Cherries often fade at the end of campaigns. For instance, they lost four of their last seven league matches (including their last three) in 2023/24 and their four final games the season before.
Predicting a Solid Start
As said, Leicester will play everyone in the division, but getting on confidence-building runs can often be the difference between amassing enough points to survive or getting shunted straight back down to the second tier (just ask Luton, Burnley and Sheff United!). A solid start for Leicester certainly looks very possible with the opening few fixtures they’ve been handed, and that could provide a solid foundation from which to build. Things could get tough over Christmas based on those games mentioned, especially if Cooper doesn’t add a little more depth to his squad. But Leicester’s saving grace could well be the run-in.
If Steve Cooper could have picked the fixtures he’d like to finish the campaign with, it’s very possible he’d have chosen several of the ones they’ve ended up with. Whether the Foxes will have enough points on the board by then to not have to worry too much about relegation remains to be seen.
But if they need points to survive, those final few games will give them every chance. If they’re already as safe as houses, perhaps these relatively easy fixtures will allow the Foxes to finish strongly enough to sneak into Europe… or maybe, just maybe, perform a miraculous reenactment of 2015/16! We can but dream!