Leicester Vs Southampton

As the 2024-25 Premier League season begins to wind down, two teams already condemned to relegation meet in what amounts to a battle of pride rather than purpose. At the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Leicester City will welcome Southampton in a clash that serves more as a footnote to a dismal campaign for both clubs. With nothing left to fight for in terms of league position, this encounter is about salvaging a modicum of dignity and possibly gaining a measure of revenge—particularly for the visitors, who will remember all too well how the reverse fixture ended in heartbreak.

Back in October, at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton were poised to take a valuable point from their meeting with Leicester. However, the match took a cruel twist in stoppage time, when Jordan Ayew found the back of the net in the 98th minute to hand the Foxes a dramatic 3-2 win. That late dagger compounded Southampton’s early-season struggles, and their fortunes have scarcely improved since. Now, months later, they will arrive at Leicester with vengeance on their minds, hoping to turn the tables in what has otherwise been a season full of despair and disappointment.

Leicester City, under the stewardship of Ruud van Nistelrooy, have endured a deeply troubling season that ultimately saw them crash out of the top flight. Their relegation was confirmed two weeks ago in a harsh but unsurprising defeat to reigning champions Liverpool. The Foxes were outclassed, outpaced, and ultimately outscored in that fixture—just as they have been on numerous occasions throughout the campaign. The downward spiral continued last weekend as they slumped to their 24th defeat of the season, this time against Wolverhampton Wanderers. A 3-0 defeat at Molineux further underscored just how far Leicester have fallen.

That match also featured yet another missed opportunity, quite literally, when Jamie Vardy—soon to bid farewell to the club where he has etched his name in history—failed to convert a second-half penalty. His miss mirrored the team’s broader inability to make the most of their chances, a trait that has haunted Leicester all season long. Head coach Van Nistelrooy didn’t mince words afterward, labeling the performance as simply "not good enough." That sentiment could serve as a theme for their entire campaign.

The statistics under Van Nistelrooy’s tenure are alarming. In the 21 Premier League matches with him at the helm, Leicester have shipped 49 goals. Should they concede once more on Saturday, they will have reached 50 goals conceded under the Dutchman faster than almost any other manager in Premier League history—only Barnsley’s Danny Wilson oversaw a team that reached that dubious milestone quicker, doing so in 19 matches. Van Nistelrooy, once an elite striker known for his clinical finishing, has been unable to inspire any kind of attacking spark from his side. His future at the King Power Stadium is far from secure, and speculation about a summer departure is gaining traction with every passing week.

Offensively, the numbers paint an equally bleak picture. Leicester have managed the fewest shots (299), shots on target (98), and expected goals (xG) total (29.2) of any team in the league. Their lack of creativity and attacking threat has rendered them toothless in most games, a far cry from the vibrant, counter-attacking side that once took the Premier League by storm. They currently occupy 19th place in the standings, with a mere 18 points to their name. That puts them seven points above Southampton at the bottom and three points adrift of Ipswich Town in 18th.

Returning to the King Power Stadium for this weekend’s match, Leicester face a venue that has turned from a fortress into a graveyard of hope. The Foxes have lost each of their last nine Premier League home games, failing to find the back of the net in all of them. The aggregate scoreline in those fixtures is a staggering 22-0 against them. To underscore just how historically bad this run has been, the only team in the top four divisions of English football to go scoreless in ten consecutive home matches remains Wolverhampton Wanderers, who endured that drought between December 1984 and April 1985. Leicester could equal that record with another goalless outing on Saturday.

As for Southampton, their recent woes are similarly painful. Last weekend, they appeared to be on course for a rare moment of joy as they led 1-0 at home to Fulham. Yet, as has been the story of their season, they were unable to hold onto the advantage. Fulham mounted a late comeback, capped off by a gut-wrenching winner from Ryan Sessegnon in the 92nd minute. That late strike consigned Southampton to their 27th Premier League defeat of the season and extinguished any lingering hope of finishing the campaign with momentum.

No team has surrendered more points from winning positions than Southampton this season, having dropped a staggering 28 points from such scenarios. Their defensive record is similarly dismal. With 80 goals conceded so far, this is their worst defensive campaign in over five decades. The last time they conceded this many goals was in the 1971-72 season, and they haven’t conceded more since 1967-68 when they shipped 83. These are not merely poor statistics—they are historically bad and indicative of a club in desperate need of restructuring from top to bottom.

Despite the bleakness, there has been a slight uptick in Southampton’s average points-per-game under interim manager Simon Rusk, who took over following the departures of Russell Martin and Ivan Juric. Rusk has yet to claim a victory in his four matches in charge, but the Saints have earned two draws during that stretch. His average of 0.5 points per game, while still dismal, is marginally better than Martin’s 0.31 and Juric’s 0.29. However, those fractional improvements are unlikely to inspire much confidence among supporters.

On the defensive end, Southampton's frailties remain glaring. They have faced more shots (605), more shots on target (234), and allowed a higher xG against (78.8) than any other Premier League side this season. These figures illustrate the chronic vulnerability in their backline and the inadequacy of their midfield screen. Rusk may be able to instill some tactical tweaks, but the squad’s limitations are far too pronounced to overcome in the short term.

History is not on Southampton's side either. They have lost their last three league meetings against Leicester, and defeat this weekend would make it four in a row—a sequence they have never endured against the Foxes. The match may lack significance in the context of the league table, but for both teams, personal pride and historical records are still at stake.

If Southampton lose again on Saturday, their place at the bottom of the Premier League will be confirmed. This would mark the third time in their history that they have finished dead last in the top flight, matching the ignominious record held by Sunderland. The Saints previously finished bottom in the 2004-05 and 2022-23 seasons. A third such finish within a twenty-year span would be emblematic of the club’s broader issues, both structural and strategic.

As for Leicester, this fixture may be one of their final chances to avoid ending their campaign with a home run of defeats and shutouts that would enter the record books for all the wrong reasons. Players like Jamie Vardy, who are expected to move on in the summer, will want to at least give the home fans something to cheer about. For Van Nistelrooy, every game could be an audition for continued employment—either at Leicester or elsewhere. His lack of impact, however, suggests his tenure may be nearing its conclusion.

In the end, Saturday’s encounter between Leicester City and Southampton may not carry weight in terms of league survival or European qualification, but that doesn’t mean it is devoid of meaning. For both clubs, this match represents a final opportunity to show fight, to remind fans of better days, and to hint—however faintly—at the promise of a brighter future. Pride may be all that’s left to play for, but sometimes, pride can be enough to spark a memorable performance. Whether either team is capable of delivering one, however, remains to be seen.