Leicester City's 2015/16 Premier League title run-in

The Foxes are on the verge of history: a first Premier League title. But can Leicester City handle the pressure? There are still nine rounds to go and The Foxes are lying in the first place, with 60 points, five more than second-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Claudio Ranieri's players are showing the consistency required, but fatigue is bound to set in during the final rounds.

Leicester City have been outstanding so far. They have won 17 of their 29 league matches and lost only three. The most remarkable part of the story is that they almost went down the previous season. The players have pulled together, show great discipline and give one hundred per cent in every single game, right up to the very last seconds.

The squad is not as deep as it ideally should be, but Ranieri can be pleased that his key players have avoided injury all season. The Italian uses a settled starting eleven, which has helped the team develop its style, and if the key men stay fit until the end of the campaign, the Foxes are capable of becoming champions. Leicester also kept their stars during the January transfer window, another important factor in their results.

Another strength is that everyone helps in defence. Top scorer Jamie Vardy, with 19 Premier League goals, can be seen winning the ball in his own box and starting a quick counter-attack. The Foxes are clinical in attack and take their chances well. They do, however, rely heavily on the individual skill of Riyad Mahrez and the pace of Jamie Vardy.

The run-in looks very difficult. Leicester host Newcastle United, Southampton, West Ham United, Swansea City and Everton, and travel to Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Manchester United and, in the final round, Chelsea. Ranieri's players will need to make the most of their games at the King Power Stadium and collect as many points as possible there.

Much of the talk is about the brilliance of Vardy and Mahrez, but Robert Huth, Wes Morgan and the tireless N'Golo Kanté are just as important to the success. German defender Huth has scored three crucial goals, securing six points against direct rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Wes Morgan is one of the best defenders in the league, and he is a big reason why Leicester have conceded only 31 goals so far.

Although he is only 24, Kanté has shown great consistency. Everything he does on the pitch looks mature. He is a genuine hard worker, regularly making a tackle and then playing an accurate pass, two of the most valuable qualities in football.

Leicester City must keep going and think only about the next match. If Ranieri and his players start calculating points instead of playing their own game, the trophy could still slip away.

How the season ended

Leicester City did go all the way. The title was confirmed on 2 May 2016, when second-placed Tottenham Hotspur let a 2-0 lead slip at Stamford Bridge and drew with Chelsea after a late equaliser from substitute Eden Hazard. It was the first league championship in the club's 132-year history, won by a team that bookmakers had rated 5000-1 outsiders before the season began. Arsenal overtook Tottenham to finish second.

The trophy was presented at the King Power Stadium on 7 May 2016, after a 3-1 win over Everton in which Jamie Vardy scored twice and Andy King once. Leicester finished with 81 points from 23 wins, 12 draws and only three defeats.

The players involved

Vardy ended the campaign with 24 Premier League goals. Earlier in the season he had scored in 11 consecutive league matches, breaking the record previously held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, and he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, the first Leicester player to win the award. Riyad Mahrez was named PFA Players' Player of the Year, becoming the first African and the first Algerian to receive it.