Leicester City

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

There should be some focus on the newbies in the Premier League just as much as the old guard in the top half of the table.

‌When you get promoted, you really do want to hit the ground running. Start the season on a high and you can ride that wave for a while. Lose, and that sunny hopeful optimism can turn to a dark menacing cloud of fear before August is over.

‌Both Ipswich Town and Leicester City have got home openers but that is counter-balanced by the fact that it is Liverpool and Tottenham they will face - two teams with designs on a top-four finish. Southampton have a bigger mountain to climb, when they face Newcastle United at St James' Park.

‌Last season, all three promoted teams in Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United were duly relegated nine months later. That was an unusual occurrence that last happened back in season 1997-98 but at least Leicester and Southampton have a decent amount of recent Premier League experience.

‌Even so, it is hard to see any of them doing anything other than battling relegation. I wish them well but expect just one will survive.

Sign up to read more from Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter here

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Of all Premier League fixtures to have been played at least 30 times, Leicester against Tottenham has the highest goals-per-game average (3.8 - 128 goals in 34 games).

There have been 28 goals scored in the past five meetings between the sides alone (5.6 per game).

Our reporter Nick Mashiter will be covering Leicester City up close this season.

Nick says: "Leicester's return to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season comes with the caveat of a possible points deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules, and they come back up with Steve Cooper having replaced title winner Enzo Maresca after his move to Chelsea.

"This is a new era for Leicester in the Premier League and survival is the aim - anything more is a bonus."

Do you agree? Or can the Foxes aim for more?

Let us know here, external

It's that time of the year again - the annual act of foolishness in which I try to predict the outcome of the 2024-25 season for all 20 Premier League clubs.

Leicester - 19th

A welcome return to the Premier League for a club that sleepwalked into the Championship in 2023 - and it comes following a turbulent summer and the possibility of a points deduction making their task even more difficult.

The club have made a shrewd appointment in Steve Cooper, who knows this course well after keeping Nottingham Forest up, following Enzo Maresca's departure for Chelsea.

Chelsea also took last season's star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and there is that looming concern over charges of allegedly breaking financial regulations.

Cooper will look to the vast experience of former England duo Conor Coady and Harry Winks, while evergreen Jamie Vardy is still at King Power Stadium, although at 37 he will be handled with care. Abdul Fatawu, a real fans' favourite on loan from Sporting Lisbon, will add flair and dynamism after signing permanently.

The Foxes are trying to get Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray and have made a bid for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis to increase firepower.

Cooper and Leicester could defy the odds but it may well be a steep uphill struggle.

Read all of Phil's predictions here

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The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been made.

Here is the list of the ties - which are split into southern and northern sections - involving Premier League clubs:

South

• AFC Wimbledon v Ipswich Town

• Brighton & Hove Albion v Crawley Town

• Birmingham City v Fulham

• Cardiff City v Southampton

• Colchester United v Brentford

• Crystal Palace v Norwich City

• West Ham United v Bournemouth

North

• Everton v Doncaster Rovers

• Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United

• Leicester City v Tranmere Rovers

• Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley

See the full draw

The games will take place in w/c 26 August.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport Football News Reporter

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It is a new era for Leicester City as they return to the Premier League.

Survival is key. The Premier League title win in 2016, Champions League nights and FA Cup triumph are now just fond memories.

Ultimately, after a March wobble, they cruised to the Championship title but the top flight is a very different beast.

Boss Steve Cooper wanted his side to be "Premier League ready" but, before Monday's opener at home to Tottenham, are they?

Abdul Fatawu, Bobby Decordova-Reid, Michael Golding, Caleb Okoli and Facundo Buonanotte are the new arrivals, as the club tread lightly around profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

That was eased by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's £30m transfer to Chelsea, following former head coach Enzo Maresca's move to Stamford Bridge which earned the Foxes around £10m.

Harry Winks and Stephy Mavididi will be key, as will goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, but there is an inescapable feeling that Leicester need more.

Goals remain a worry - Jamie Vardy netted 18 in the Championship last term but, at 37 years old and possibly in his final season, whether he can produce enough in the Premier League is debatable.

A deal for Bayer Leverkusen forward Adam Hlozek is reportedly close, and Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis and Galatasary's Wilfried Zaha have been linked, but with Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka likely to miss Monday's game through injury, a striker is a priority.

That all comes with a backdrop of the club's outstanding PSR charge for an alleged breach of the rules, which could eventually see the Foxes hit with a points deduction, meaning staying up will remain the priority.

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday at the conclusion of the first-round tie between Leeds United and Middlesbrough.

Thirteen Premier League clubs will enter in the second round, as will Luton Town and Burnley, who were relegated from the top flight in 18th and 19th positions last season.

The draw for round two will be regionalised into northern and southern sections.

The seven Premier League clubs playing in European competitions in 2024-25, including Carabao Cup holders Liverpool, will come in at the third-round stage.

The key dates for the competition are as follows:

• Second round - w/c 26 August

• Third round - w/c 16 and w/c 23 September

• Fourth round - w/c 28 October

• Quarter-finals - w/c 16 December

• Semi-finals - w/c 6 January (first leg) and w/c 3 February

• Final - 16 March

Follow Wednesday's action and then the full draw here from 19:30 BST

Leicester City have made a £4m offer for 32-year-old Crystal Palace and Ghana forward Jordan Ayew. (Mail), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

17th - I have to hope that it is outside the bottom three. We are at the race but are starting in the pit lane. After promotion was gained, we face the threat of a points deduction and our manager left to join Chelsea, as did our star player. Also limited finances in the transfer window - give me 17th now and I'll bite your hand off.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

Whilst Abdul Fatawu was a huge signing, the clause in his loan deal meant we were always going to get him. The biggest signing is yet to happen and that is the replacement for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

What do you want from your manager this season?

I was happy with the appointment of Steve Cooper as I believe he has the experience to keep us up. If he achieves anything above that he will have exceeded most fans' expectations at this stage.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

We have a great youth system and I hope that Will Alves, an attacking midfielder, will make the breakthrough this season. A season-defining injury stopped this happening last season. Maybe now is the time to see if he sinks or swims, but he needs at some point to be thrown into the pool.

What is your one major concern?

PSR. I was hoping that this would all be sorted to some degree by the start of the season, but it looks like the Premier League are acting with their normal lack of speed. This would have let us know where we stand and what we have to do to survive with most of the season to achieve it.

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

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On the latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Owynn Palmer-Atkin, former Foxes winger Matt Piper and actor Tom Hendryk have been talking about the club's desperate need for reinforcements in the squad.

Hendryk said: "We are lacking in the most important part of our game - we need goals and we need goalscorers."

"We need players. Players are getting played out of position right now. We need them filled.

"The starting XI against Lens was a starting XI that hadn't scored a single goal in pre-season, unless you include Caleb Okoli's own goal against Shrewsbury."

Palmer-Atkin added: "That is an issue. There are real key areas in this Leicester City side that need addressing and they are all in the attacking department.

"When you look at the squad they have so far, defensively - other than maybe a left-back - they look pretty solid.

"The initial part of the midfield - the defensive midfielders of Winks, Choudhury and Wilfried Ndidi look good - but behind that it's a real struggle through the centre of the pitch."

The Foxes begin their season at home to Tottenham on Monday.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Leicester boss Steve Cooper says new loan signing Facundo Buonanotte fits the attacking midfielder profile they needed to find this summer.

"We have said from day one that we need players in certain positions because some players have had to play out of position during pre-season," Cooper told BBC Radio Leicester following the pre-season defeat to Lens.

"He is a young player but he has Premier League experience too. He is someone the club identified and we are really pleased that he is here."

The 19-year-old signed from Brighton on Saturday and could make his debut for the Foxes in their opening game of the season at home to Tottenham on Monday, 19 August.

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling Podcast on BBC Sounds

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Former Leicester manager Dean Smith says he tried to sign Jamie Vardy for his current club FC Charlotte and has paid tribute to his former assistant Craig Shakespeare.

Smith, 53, had hoped to bring Vardy to the United States with him but believes the Foxes' promotion denied him the chance of tempting the 37-year-old marksman to Major League Soccer.

When asked about his former striker at the US Bank Stadium in Charlotte, where his Charlotte team play, Smith said: “I did text him and see if he wanted to come over to America, but I knew that was going to be hard once he took Leicester back to the Premier League.

“It's just his enthusiasm for the game, he doesn't train as much as he used to and he won't get as many minutes as he used to, but if he's used right he'll be really, really good [this season]. You saw the goals he scored in the Championship last year.”

Smith also paid tribute to Shakespeare who was his long-time assistant at both Leicester and Aston Villa in the Premier League but has passed away last week aged 60.

He added: "Craig was a very close friend of mine. As are [his wife] Karen, [and kids] Elle and Jed. It's been a really tough time over the last nine or ten months. He was taken too soon from us.

“I can't speak highly enough of him. I was actually his boot boy at Walsall and we played together there. He then became a coach with me at Aston Villa, Norwich and Leicester. I am just heartbroken that he's been taken too soon from us.

“As a coach, the way he was with players and people, he got the best out of them. He knew and understood the game really well. He was instrumental in Leicester winning the Premier League. He was instrumental with players like Harry Maguire, who he signed at Leicester.

“There are so many players who have sent so many messages to the family, Jack Grealish included. I spoke to John Terry the other day and he was heartbroken, as we all are.

“He will be remembered by me for his humbleness but also his humour. He was the best-timed comedian ever and at times even through his illness he would make fun of cancer, and that was the sort of guy he was.”

Leicester City have reached agreement with Bayer Leverkusen over a loan with an obligation to buy their Czech Republic striker Adam Hlozek. The Foxes still need to agree terms with the 22-year-old. (Sky Germany), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast is now available on BBC Sounds.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin, former Foxes winger Matt Piper and actor Tom Hendryk start the countdown to Leicester City's return to the Premier League, with one week to go until the Foxes face Tottenham in their season opener.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

After a long summer break, BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club is back in action this evening.

Tune in as the panel cover all the major talking points from the summer and look ahead to Premier League football returning at the weekend.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

BBC Sport's experts have been considering which young players may become big names this season.

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Leicester's signing of Michael Golding from Chelsea last month was an intriguing one.

The 18-year-old did not make a lasting impression on the first team at Stamford Bridge - making just one appearance as an 89th-minute substitute in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Preston - but has plenty of youth experience with England's age groups.

He will not be expected to fill the gap left by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who joined Chelsea in July, but as a midfielder who can play as a 10 or a number eight, there is potential for him to become the next box-to-box star for the Foxes.

See who else our experts picked here

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The curtain opens on the 2024-25 Premier League season in just a matter of days, so why not take a look at how all 20 clubs performed in pre-season?

The games have been spread across the globe, from Tokyo and New York to Crawley and Preston.

See the results here

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper speaking to BBC Radio Leicester's Owynn Palmer-Atkin after their defeat by Lens on Saturday: "Tough day. It was the challenge we needed and type of game we needed, playing against a good team that plays in Europe.

"But, in terms of performance, nothing good about our in-possession game. The game demanded a much more intense in-possession game. We wanted to play quick and they didn’t allow that but we need to play quicker and find spaces quicker and that fell short.

"We defended more in the first half than was the plan, but we did do OK defensively. There are some half decent things to take from that. There was just some really weak things in the start of the second half and some attributes to that I didn’t like at all.

"The only good thing from the game is that it will be an even tougher game next week and, with that in mind, we have to improve massively and I have challenged everybody to look at today for a refence point and to go - 'I’m glad that happened because we got it out of the way for what the season brings'.

"We know where we are with the squad and we just have to keep going. We're crying out for fresh blood, the players are too.

"We are desperate for it in some areas of the pitch and this was another example of that."

On if he has seen the required level yet for the Premier League?: "Time will tell on that.

"All I do know is things are not where we want them to be and we know why. Some areas we haven't reached the potential yet and we know why and we need to make the squad stronger.

"That is what you need when you step up if you want to give yourself the chance to succeed in the league."

Listen to the full episode of When You're Smiling on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's pre-season friendly between RC Lens and Leicester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Jason: Clueless. I’m a season ticket holder and dreading the first game of the season as it appears we have no striker, and even if we did, we have little creativity.

Filberts: It seems this season has the makings of being a nightmare in so many ways, especially in comparison to last season. Last season, albeit in the Championship, was a delight. We we worried losing 11 games! This season, the worry? Winning one game! Keep the faith.

Steve: The poor displays continue. Two shots in 90 minutes is just awful, and at present I can't see goals coming from anywhere. Lens were dominant in every aspect. Stronger, better organised, technically superior, and way more desire. Steve Cooper had no plan A or B, a week before the season starts? Woeful.

Andrew: Not looking good, no goals again. Not much threat, the signings are uninspiring. We look like fodder for the rest of the Premier League teams.

Vinny: I’m hoping that these friendlies are being used by Cooper to establish who shouldn’t be anywhere near the starting XI, otherwise we’re in for quite a battering when we play Spurs in a weeks time. I hope the rumours of Zaha are true. We look toothless up front.

Dave: Extremely poor. No passion. No plan. No evidence of a coherent style of play. My only hope is it is a strategy to confuse the opposition in the first few games.

Leicester are keen on Roma's 26-year-old English striker Tammy Abraham but face competition from AC Milan, Everton and Bournemouth. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Leicester City have made a £23.2m bid for 24-year-old Panathinaikos and Greece striker Fotis Ioannidis as they continue talks to try to bring in Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha, 31, from Galatasaray. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast offers post-match analysis after a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Lens to finish pre-season.

Former Foxes winger Matt Piper offers his assessment, plus hear from boss Steve Cooper.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester wrapped up their pre-season campaign with a heavy defeat in France to Ligue 1 side Lens.

How concerned are you about the performance, Foxes fans?

Or are Steve Cooper's side ready for the new season?

Let us know your thoughts here, external - and return on Monday to read the submissions