The stats that show Leicester should finish in the top four

By Ben Nagle

Image: Jamie Vardy has been instrumental in taking Leicester to the top

No team has ever had Leicester's points tally after 15 matches of a 38-game Premier League season and finished outside the top four.

The Foxes are top of the table with 32 points, and Claudio Ranieri's side would have to break a record not to qualify for the Champions League this season.

In fact, no team this century have been top of the table after 15 matches and not finished in the top four, and only Aston Villa in Premier League history have been top at this stage (in 1998-99) and missed out.

Leicester are the 33rd team in Premier League history to reach 32 points or more from their first 15 games, and only one of those sides failed to finish in the top four come May.

That, however, came in a 42-game season as Newcastle eventually finished sixth in 1994-95 having reached 33 points by late November.

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Image: Sky Sports' Paul Merson was part of the Aston Villa squad who fell from top to sixth in 1998-99

Many pundits, including Sky Sports' Paul Merson, have tipped Leicester to struggle to make the top six, something that would be unprecedented given the statistics.

The club was only promoted to the Premier League in May 2014, and a top-four finish would cap a remarkable rise for the big-league new boys.

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Additionally, only two sides in Premier League history have had EXACTLY 32 points after 15 games in a 38-game season, and both finished in the top three.

Arsenal ended the season runners-up in 2002-03, while Leeds finished third in 1999-00.

Image: Chelsea were top of the table at this point last season... and they won the league in May

Looking back at previous league tables to compare positions, 11/23 teams who were top after 15 games have won the Premier League.

Seven have finished second and three finished third, meaning only two teams in Premier League history have finished fourth or below after being top at this stage of the campaign.

One of which is Arsenal, who in the 2013/14 season fell from top to fourth in the second half of the campaign, and the other is Aston Villa, who were top in 1998/99, but fell to sixth come May.

Leicester will certainly be hoping they don't follow the lead of their Midlands rivals.

These stats were taken from this week's Martin Tyler column. Visit his page for more great facts and stats. 

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