Leicester City might be staring at a potential points deduction soon, and having failed to start the campaign on a strong note, their hopes of mounting a promotion challenge this season are becoming increasingly complicated for the Foxes.
Last season, Leicester were relegated from the Premier League, dropping to the Championship for the second time in three years.
Neither Steve Cooper nor Ruud van Nistelrooy could rescue the Foxes from the fall, even after winning an appeal to avoid a points deduction last season.
Although they succeeded in overturning the deduction last term, they aren’t completely in the clear yet, having breached profit and sustainability regulations during the 2023/24 season. Reports suggest they could be “looking at nine points or more being taken off their total in the coming weeks.”
Indeed, Leicester carried out something of a squad clear-out this summer, with Wilfred Ndidi, Mads Hermansen, Kasey McAteer, James Justin, Conor Coady, Bilal El Khannouss, Danny Ward, Woyo Coulibaly and Jamie Vardy all departing the King Power Stadium during the last transfer window.
At the same time, the club didn’t spend a dime on transfer fees, leaving them in a significantly weaker state than their last Championship campaign under Enzo Maresca.
Leicester City’s possible points deduction “would be a disaster”:
Speaking to Football League World, Leicester fan pundit Louchlainn shared his view on the looming issue surrounding his club’s potential punishment.
Louchlainn said:
“I think the worrying thing now for Leicester fans is the points deduction. We haven’t started the season incredibly, and there’s a lot of room for improvement. And I think we’ve had a fairly average start to the season; it’s not been terrible.
“The worry is that when a points deduction comes, that could just completely destabilise us on the pitch mentally, and obviously league position as well.
“Let’s say you take off ten points now, we’re very close to the bottom, if not bottom, I’ll have to check that.
“It would be a disaster on that front, and you kind of just worry more, will that affect the players mentally in a negative way?
“Will some of them have their heads dropped or turned in January, because of that? We will have to see.
“Hopefully, we win enough points by the end of the season to finish in the play-offs.”
Leicester City promotion hopes in Jeopardy amid points deduction fears:
Even though the Foxes may face a potential deduction, they continue to aim for a swift return to the Premier League.
Under Cifuentes, Leicester’s start to the 2025-26 Championship campaign has been 4 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats from 12 matches, accumulating 17 points at an average of roughly 1.42 points per game.
The Foxes have managed just one win in their previous eight encounters, while Rovers are aiming to secure consecutive victories for the first time this campaign.
Leicester still carry a genuine attacking threat with players such as Abdul Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Jeremy Monga, Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka, Julian Carranza, and Bobby De Cordova-Reid leading their front line.
This gives them arguably one of the strongest attacking line-ups in the division, and as long as Cifuentes can refine their offensive play, they shouldn’t struggle for goals — though inconsistency remains a concern.
Still, with four straight draws, pressure could soon start mounting on Cifuentes if he fails to convert performances into wins soon.
When and how Leicester will be sanctioned, and how many points could be removed, remains uncertain — but for now, the focus must remain on what lies ahead.
Next up for the Foxes is a tricky trip to South Wales to face Swansea City, as they aim to end their four-game winless streak and secure their first victory in five matches.