Leicester City on course to smash Championship points record - Maresca's impressive impact

Leicester City are flying high on top of the English Championship and they appear destined to secure an immediate return to the Premier League. Seven years after famously winning the title, Leicester were relegated last season after Brendan Rodgers was sacked and his replacement Dean Smith was incapable of preserving their top-flight status.

Naturally, Leicester lost key players in the summer as James Maddison joined Tottenham for €46.3 million, Harvey Barnes moved to Newcastle for €44m, Timothy Castagne signed for Fulham for €13m, while Youri Tielemans, Çağlar Söyüncü and Jonny Evans departed on free transfers. Leicester recruited smartly with Harry Winks and Conor Coady replacing the experienced departees. Stephy Mavididi and Mads Hermansen have impressed since their arrivals and they offer sell-on potential but their best signing of the summer was new manager Enzo Maresca. 

Enzo Maresca: Pep Guardiola’s influence visible on former assistant

Maresca’s had a transformative effect on Leicester - especially their style of play - and the Italian deserves immense credit, especially after being appointed amid testing circumstances after their relegation. The 43-year-old won Serie A with Juventus and two UEFA Cup’s with Sevilla during an impressive playing career before progressing into coaching. Maresca spent time on the coaching staff at Sevilla and West Ham before making his name at Manchester City. He won Premier League 2 with City’s U21 side before stepping into management with Parma in 2021 but he returned to City the following year, after being sacked by the Italian’s after less than six months in charge following an unsuccessful start in Serie B. 

While Maresca’s managerial credentials were somewhat questioned following his spell at Parma - his win percentage was just 28.57% -  he remained highly respected by thr City Group and he became Pep Guardiola’s assistant following his return to England. Guardiola’s influence is noticeable as Maresca has adopted a patient, possession-based style of play with Leicester regularly dominating their opponents. They’ve scored the most goals (64), conceded the fewest (23) and enjoyed the second highest average possession (61.7%) in the Championship. There has, however, been slight criticism from a minority of the fanbase that Leicester’s approach can be boring with Maresca sensationally claiming he would quit if supporters weren’t happy after defeating Swansea City 3-1 at the end of January. 

“You can feel the fans, but also when they’re not happy,” he declared. “Probably some people take some things for granted. But it’s not like this. Twenty-six wins out of 34 (in all competitions), it’s something unbelievable. Probably when you win, win, win at home, and you continue to win, people think it’s easy. But it’s not easy. I arrived at this club to play with this idea. The moment there is some doubt about the idea, the day after, I will leave. It’s so clear. No doubts.  We have won 26 of 34, a huge number. If people think it’s easy and take it for granted, it’s not like this. Huge respect for the players and the effort they are making. Hopefully, we can give our fans the right joy at the end of the season.”

Leicester on track to beat Championship record points total

Ahead of facing Watford this afternoon, Leicester sit nine points clear of Southampton at the Championship summit, albeit the Saints have a game in hand. Leicester’s remarkable campaign is evidenced by the fact they’re on track to eclipse the record points haul in the Championship’s history. Reading’s title winning side of 2005/06 currently hold that title after amassing 106 points but Leicester could feasibly better it. Maresca’s men have amassed 2.4 points per game, which is higher than Reading achieved (2.3), and if their form continues at the current rate then they’ll finish with 110 points from their 46 games.

Leicester City’s star performers during Championship run

Several players have shone under Maresca but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has undoubtedly been Leicester’s star performer. The 25-year-old is far too good to be playing in the Championship with Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford amongst known admirers. Dewsbury-Hall has contributed 10 goals and 10 assists, which represents a fantastic return from a central midfielder and he’s revelled under Maresca. Mavididi has delivered on his unquestionable potential since joining from Montpellier for €10m, scoring ten goals. The 25-year-old came through the ranks at Arsenal before joining Juventus in 2018 and he has the ability to play in the Premier League. Wout Faes, Ricardo Periera and James Justin have all been integral to Leicester’s defence that has conceded the lowest amount of goals in the league. While Jamie Vardy remains at the club despite losing his place as a guaranteed striker but the veteran striker has still scored 10 goals in 22 games.