After Leicester City’s thrilling 3-0 victory over Preston North End on Monday night, the team’s supporters and players began a ruthless trolling campaign against Leeds United.
Leeds and Ipswich will now compete for the second automatic spot in the Premier League, and with Ipswich still having a game to come—a Tuesday night trip to Coventry—there’s a good chance Leeds will earn a spot in the play-offs.
When Leeds rallied from a goal down to defeat leaders Leicester 3-1 at Elland Road on February 23, it all felt quite different. The deficit had shrunk from 17 points over the Christmas break to just six points.
When the final whistle blew, Elland Road’s crowd erupted to the song “I Predict A Riot” by Leeds-based band Kaiser Chiefs, certain that Daniel Farke’s team was winning.
And the mockery of Leeds continued in the Leicester dressing room as a video emerged of Jamie Vardy, Harry Winks and co singing ‘I predict a riot’ as they celebrated.
That moment clearly hadn’t been forgotten on Monday night as 5,700 travelling Leicester fans at Deepdale sang ‘I predict the play-offs’.
With Leeds and Ipswich tied on 90 points, the Yorkshire side are left relying on a favour from Coventry on Tuesday night ahead of Saturday’s finale.
That will see Leeds entertain Southampton at Elland Road, while Ipswich are at home to virtually-relegated Huddersfield Town.
Leicester had their promotion straight back to the Premier League confirmed when Leeds were thrashed 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday night.
Needing one win from their last two games to secure the title, they dominated Preston and won thanks to a double from Jamie Vardy and Kasey McAteer’s header.
A win over Blackburn at the King Power Stadium on Saturday will see Leicester amass a century of points and they can equal a 104-year-old record for victories in a second-tier season with 32.
However, Maresca hinted the club legend would be staying: ‘Jamie Vardy is Leicester. Jamie Vardy, I didn’t discover him. Jamie Vardy will always score goals in his life.
‘He’s going to score goals until he’s 45 because it’s in his blood to score goals. We are very lucky that he’s our players. He’s scored many goals.’
Asked whether there had been new contract discussions, Maresca added: ‘Not yet because the target was the finish in the right way.
‘We have a game on Saturday and then we’ll sit, but my feeling is that he’s going to stay.
‘That is just my feeling, but if I were to decide…’
