Leicester’s decline from Premier League champions to brink of League One

Leicester are on the verge of back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.

The Foxes celebrated their memorable top-flight title win just 10 years ago, but will drop to the third tier if they fail to beat Hull on Tuesday evening.

Here, the Press Association takes look at a rollercoaster last decade for the midlands club.

Leicester were crowned Premier League champions under Claudio Ranieri – after finishing 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal – to guarantee their spot in the Champions League for the first time.

Leicester soon crashed back down to earth and sacked Ranieri in February 2017, while they made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League before finishing a lowly 14th in the English top flight.

Following a run of just one win from their opening eight matches, new boss Craig Shakespeare departed and Claude Puel was put in charge as they achieved a ninth-placed finish.

Leicester were 12th when they sacked Puel, but Brendan Rodgers’ appointment helped them finish ninth in a season which would be remembered for a helicopter crash that killed Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others on October 27.

City completed their best season since winning the league as they finished fifth and went on an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, defeating Southampton 9-0 along the way – which still stands as the joint-highest margin of victory in Premier League history.

Leicester hit new highs and lifted the FA Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea. But it could have been a season of much more for the club, whose Europa League journey ended in the last-16 phase and they missed out on a top-four finish.

Leicester defeated Manchester City to win the Community Shield and they reached a first-ever continental semi-final in the Conference League but their European dream came to an end against Jose Mourinho’s eventual winners, Roma.

The 2022-23 season is where Leicester’s real decline started as they suffered relegation from the top flight after a run of five defeats in six games dropped them into the relegation zone and saw Rodgers depart. Dean Smith’s appointment did little to save them from the Championship.

Leicester’s stay in the second tier was short-lived and they secured promotion straight back to the Premier League by lifting the Championship trophy for a record eighth time as Jamie Vardy bagged 20 goals.

Their season in the top flight was a massive disappointment and the Leicester fans never warmed to new boss Steve Cooper, who was sacked after just 12 games to be replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy. But the Foxes suffered 15 defeats from 16 league games and were relegated in 18th place.

Leicester had an encouraging start under Marti Cifuentes but things soon unravelled and the manager departed in January to be replaced by Gary Rowett. The following month they were deducted six points before a run of one win from 18 matches left them on the verge of League One, just 10 years after winning the Premier League.