Leicester

Image source, Opta

With the October international break now firmly in the rearview mirror, Opta Analyst, external have turned their attention to the next four Premier League fixtures.

Here, they have given each team a ranking between 80 and 100 and then found the average to determine to difficulty of the schedule.

Liverpool's opening seven matches were ranked the easiest in the league, but their upcoming four are the fourth-toughest in the division. They will face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Brighton, with an average opponent strength of 91.4 before the next international break.

Fellow early pacesetters Arsenal also have challenging fixtures, playing Bournemouth, Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea with an average rating of 90.7, while Manchester City's next four against Wolves, Southampton, Bournemouth and Brighton are ranked the third-easiest by Opta.

Chelsea and Brighton have the second-hardest and third-hardest runs respectively, a real test given the promising starts for their new managers Enzo Maresca and Fabian Hurzeler.

At the other end of the table, Leicester - who recently secured their first win of the season against Bournemouth - have a chance to build with the easiest run in the division. They face Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich and Manchester United.

Fellow promoted side Ipswich will hope to pick up their first win of the season during a run of games that is ranked the fifth-easiest.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you to send in your questions for Fara Williams and the former England midfielder and BBC Sport pundit has been answering a selection.

Jacob asked: Steve Cooper got his first Premier League win as Leicester boss against Bournemouth, but how well do you think the Foxes can do under him and do you think he will still be in the job after the end of the season?

Cooper is a manager who, when you look at what he did with Nottingham Forest - a team there or thereabouts at the bottom but did not get relegated - knows how to keep a team in the Premier League.

It is difficult when a Championship side comes up. The gap between the Championship and the Premier League is bigger than people realise.

He has taken on a very good team in Leicester and once you start picking points up, things begin to feel a bit easier. They have got a run of games coming up now - facing the likes of Southampton, Ipswich and Nottingham Forest - where they will be thinking they could potentially get nine points.

What is difficult for Cooper is that he has taken on an Enzo Maresca team that played out from the back and in a certain way. So trying to stay in the Premier League with Championship players who have played a certain way is hard and it will take time for them to adapt to his style and get on board.

We know the fans were a little bit against him coming in but, ultimately, it is about keeping them in the the top flight.

If he can keep them in the league then there is no reason why he should not keep his job at the end of the season.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester boss Steve Cooper could have former Southampton centre-back Jannik Vestergaard available for Saturday's trip to St Mary's Stadium and confirmed Hamza Choudhury and Patson Daka are also nearing a return to action.

Vestergaard has missed the Foxes' past four games with an ankle injury but played the full 90 minutes in both of Denmark's Nations League matches over the international break.

"Jannik has played a couple of games for the national team," said Cooper. "He was just about getting fit before the Bournemouth game, so he's obviously in a much better place in terms of his fitness and his recovery from his ankle injury."

Meanwhile, midfielder Choudhury missed Leicester's first win of the season last time out against the Cherries after damaging his shoulder in training but did not require surgery.

"It's still going to take a bit of time because it was a dislocation," Cooper said. "As Hamza does, he's attacking the injury in a positive way, in a ruthless manner of getting back as soon as possible. He'll be back with us but we're not sure quite when yet."

Finally, striker Daka, who cost £23m when he was bought from Red Bull Salzburg in 2021, is yet to feature this season after surgery on an ankle injury during the summer.

"It was quite a serious injury and operation that he had to have," Cooper said of the Zambia international.

"It was such unfortunate timing as well, the week before the season was due to start - but he's coming into the final stages of rehab.

"You'll see him on the grass now a little bit but he's very much still with the medical team and building his way towards being with us. His rehab is going to plan."

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There is a Christmas tree sitting in a cardboard box ready to be put up at Leicester's training ground.

A bit of fake snow dusts the pines and its presence shows Leicester are about to get into the meat of the season.

They are getting ready to put the decorations up and Steve Cooper would surely like some early presents.

A 1-0 win over Bournemouth got Leicester going before the international break but with Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich to come, opportunity knocks.

On Thursday, Cooper remained respectfully bullish; confident that Leicester can build on the win over Bournemouth, but also wary of the problems Southampton could cause when the Foxes visit St Mary's on Saturday.

The 44-year-old strikes the right tone more often than not. He regularly offers self-deprecating jokes about how he waffles during news conferences and has a manner which is easy to understand and support.

It will help Leicester through this period - one where results will be expected and demanded by a fanbase who, Cooper admits, are yet to be completely won over.

Being an affable, likeable guy will not win Leicester points but should the Foxes come away with some in the next few weeks, that scepticism will start to fade and the Foxes will enter the season of goodwill with growing unity.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester are one of just three teams (along with Arsenal and Manchester City) to have scored in every Premier League game so far this season.

The Foxes earned their first win of the campaign against Bournemouth before the international break. They most recently won consecutive games in the top flight in February 2023.

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Jack Rafferty is joined by Matty Fryatt as the Foxes prepare for their return from international football against Southampton on Sunday.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Opta

After the October international break, the Opta supercomputer has updated its projected final Premier League table.

It is only seven matches into the campaign so much can still change, but the season is beginning to take shape. The supercomputer simulates thousands of seasons and takes the percentage each side finishes in each league position.

Southampton remain most likely to finish bottom but their one point from seven games has seen their chances increasing dramatically from 28.6% to 61%.

A solid start, despite no win yet, has seen Ipswich's probability of finishing 17th creep up from 12% to 15.2% - but a 19th-placed finish has increased from 21.3% to 25.3%.

Leicester's most likely finish has changed from bottom to 18th after their first win under Steve Cooper, while Crystal Palace's poor start has seen their chances of ending in their current position of 18th go from 1.1% to 7.2%.

Wolves finished 18th in 9.7% of simulations before a ball was kicked but the now-bottom side are now at 20.1% to end in that position after a winless first seven games.

The wider world might be surprised by who Leicester's fastest player is this season.

It's not Jamie Vardy. It's not even an attacker...

Find out here

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Wilfred Ndidi is ready to face Southampton on Saturday after his ordeal with Nigeria in Libya this week.

The midfielder was part of the Nigeria squad who were left at Al Abraq airport for 16 hours before their Africa Cup of Nations game with Libya.

The Super Eagles decided to boycott the match, which was scheduled to be played on Tuesday evening, after being stranded at the airport when their plane was diverted there on Sunday.

After being kept at the terminal building, about 230km (143 miles) away from their intended destination of Benghazi, the squad flew back home and arrived in Kano on Monday afternoon.

Of Ndidi, Foxes boss Steve Cooper said: "He is fine - that’s the most important thing. He is back with us and safe and well. We were in close contact with him throughout the situation and he kept us updated.

"Thankfully the situation got resolved. He was back with us soon after and has trained since. He is in a safe place and that includes the mental side of it as well.

"He is more than happy to get back to business as usual. He trained yesterday and will train today and will be ready for the game at the weekend."

The Foxes go to St Mary's in the Premier League looking to build on their first win of the season against Bournemouth before the international break.

"Pressure doesn’t mean negativity," Cooper added. "It’s exciting as it means you are striving for something and want to achieve something. We are motivated to create good days, striving to become the team we are going to be.

"When we get it right, it will be exciting. We have to make it happen and we’re in control of that."

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Southampton (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Cooper confirmed that "nothing has changed" in terms of injuries, but they are "still waiting for a few [players] to get back". Patson Daka is "making progress" and "is coming into the final stages of rehab" after operation on his ankle injury.

• Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi is "in a safe place, and that includes the mental side of it too" after an incident with his national side that saw the team left stranded at an airport overnight, and he will be available for Saturday's game.

• On if getting a first Premier League win of the season has taken the pressure off: "There's always pressure on every team. There's not a moment you can step away from that... we know which direction we're travelling in and it's a rocky road sometimes but we're excited about the journey ahead."

• Cooper added: "When we get it right, it will be exciting. We are really motivated and believe in where we're going to go. We have to make it happen and we're in control of that."

• Cooper said it is "always better going into an international break after a win" but it is now about "attacking the weekend" when they play Southampton as they "want back-to-back wins, [to] create more positivity".

• He added: "The opportunity we have is to build on that [win]. It's always hard when results are not going as you want, but we haven't been narrow-minded to think we haven't done some good things and things we need to improve on."

• On the Saints' style of play: "Every team has a style in the Premier League, every team has consistencies. That is how you end up succeeding. I always respect our opponents but we have to make sure we are at our best and believe that we can have the biggest impact in the game."

• On the pathway for British coaches after Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England manager: "I really believe in British culture, I believe in the coaching education pathway as well... hopefully over the course of time, British coaching will continue to improve and we will be right up there with the world's best."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news