Flying Foxes earn praise from Fergie

Leicester City continues its once unlikely quest to win the Premier League title on Sunday, with Sir Alex Ferguson among those backing the Foxes to claim the crown.

This weekend sees the Premier League resume after the international break, with Leicester currently five points clear of second-place Tottenham Hotspur.

Claudio Ranieri's men, 5,000-1 title shots before the season started, are next at home to Southampton.

Shinji Okazaki (left) celebrates with teammates Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater after opening the scoring for Leicester City in a match against Newcastle on March 14 at King Power Stadium. Reuters

For weeks pundits have been asking when Leicester will stumble, but the long-forecast collapse has yet to come and, with seven matches remaining, former Manchester United manager Ferguson does not expect the Foxes to falter.

"The Foxes have the bit between their teeth, they've been the best team without question throughout the season and they deserve to win it," Ferguson, who won 13 English championships during his trophy-laden reign at Old Trafford, told Sky Sports.

"You would think their inexperience would count, but Leicester has unbelievable energy and togetherness that suggests it is going to see it through.

"For instance, they've won their last few games 1-0. I had a season at United where we had eight 1-0 victories and that won us the league."

Ferguson also praised the contribution of Italian manager Ranieri.

"I don't see any nerves, and that's down to the manager. He's brought a calming influence. It's fantastic, they are a breath of fresh air and it's great for the game."

Leicester's Jamie Vardy scored his first international goal as England came from 2-0 down to beat world champion Germany 3-2 in a friendly in Berlin last Saturday, although the national side was brought back down to earth with a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands at Wembley on Tuesday.

Tottenham, the Foxes' nearest pursuer, had five players in Roy Hodgson's squad - Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker.

"The generation of players England has now, they are in a position to achieve big things and good things for the country," said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Spurs can cut the gap to two points before Leicester plays if they win away to Liverpool on Saturday.

This will be the last time Spurs will be in action before their title rival, and Argentinian manager Pochettino said: "We cannot guess whether it is better to play before or after.

"It is like in penalties, some people say it is better to shoot first than second but you never know."

'Screwed up'

Meanwhile, England striker Kane, who has scored 21 goals already this season, hopes to play without his facemask after recovering from a broken nose.

Third-place Arsenal, 11 points behind Leicester, is still barely in the title race but Arsene Wenger's men face Watford on Saturday knowing that any more dropped points will likely spell the end of their hopes.

"Looking at our season so far, we have to be honest and admit that we screwed up," said Gunners playmaker Mesut Ozil.

West Ham will continue its push for a top-four place at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday while Manchester United, which also has 50 points, is home to Everton on Sunday.

Manchester City, clinging to fourth place, travels to Bournemouth on Saturday.

At the other end of the standings, cellar-dwelling Aston Villa welcomes Chelsea to Villa Park in the home squad's first match since firing French manager Remi Garde.

Second-bottom Newcastle is at Norwich, just above the relegation zone, in a crunch match for both clubs while Sunderland faces West Bromwich Albion.

Tales of the unexpected : 10 surprise league champions

Nottingham Forest (England, 1977-78): Promoted from England's second tier the previous season, Brian Clough's Forest took the top division by storm to win the league by seven points over European champion Liverpool, which it also defeated in the League Cup final. Clough bolstered his ranks by signing England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Scotland midfielder Archie Gemmill and no-nonsense Scot Kenny Burns, who was reconverted from a striker to a centerback, but the team was otherwise unchanged. Forest won the European Cup the following season and retained it in 1980, making it the only club to have won the tournament more times than its own national championship

Ipswich Town (England, 1961-62): Ipswich, in its first season after promotion, was crowned champion of England for the only time in its history in a league where Tottenham, bolstered by signing of Jimmy Greaves, was arguably even stronger than when it won the double of league and cup in 1960-61. Ipswich's success eventually saw Alf Ramsey get the England job. In 1966, Ramsey led England to its only World Cup title.

Atletico Madrid (Spain, 2013-14): Atletico ended Barcelona and Real Madrid's 10-year domination of La Liga in dramatic fashion as it came from behind to secure the 1-1 draw it needed in a final day title decider away to Barca. Despite having a fifth of the budget available to Real and Barca's star-studded squads led by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, a rock-solid defence and Diego Costa's 27 goals fired Atletico to its first title in 18 years. The season was still tinged by slight disappointment for Los Rojiblancos as they were seconds away from their first ever Champions League a week later in Lisbon only to eventually succumb to Real 4-1 after extra time.

Montpellier (France, 2011-12): The Qatari takeover of Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2011 ushered in a new era in French soccer, but only after Montpellier defied the odds to clinch a first Ligue 1 title. Rene Girard's side finished just three points above the relegation zone in 14th the previous season, but three straight wins, including a 1-0 victory at defending champion Lille, to start the 2011-12 campaign set in motion an unlikely title challenge. Olivier Giroud's 21 goals saw him claim the golden boot, while John Utaka's final-day double at Auxerre propelled Montpellier to a maiden Ligue 1 crown as it beat its far wealthier rival PSG, coached by Carlo Ancelotti, to the title by three points.

Wolfsburg (Germany, 2008-09): Wolfsburg was ninth in the standings and nine points from the top midway through the 2008-09 season before embarking on a run which saw it win the club's first league title, two points ahead of mighty Bayern Munich. After the January winter break, Wolfsburg won 15 of its 17 matches, including a 5-1 drubbing of Bayern when Brazilian striker Grafite backheeled its audacious fifth goal past a posse of defenders. Grafite (28 goals) and Edin Dzeko (26) forged a new league record partnership of 54 goals, one more than Bayern legends Gerd Mueller (40) and Uli Hoeness (13) netted in 1971-72 when Mueller set the league's all-time record.

Kaiserslautern (Germany, 1997-98): Under legendary coach Otto Rehhagel, Kaiserslautern became the only club to win the Bundesliga title in its first season after promotion when it finished two points clear of Bayern. Top scorer was Germany international Olaf Marschall, who netted 21 goals in 24 games, while it was the breakthrough season for youthful midfielder Michael Ballack. Having beaten Bayern 1-0 on the opening day, Kaiserslautern topped the table four weeks into the season and never relinquished its lead. Kaiserslautern beat Bayern home and away in the league - sweet moments for Rehhagel, who was fired by the Bavarian giant in April 1996 after less than a season in charge.

Verona (Italy, 1984-85): Verona's 1985 scudetto triumph is not just memorable for the fact it is its only league title. Its championship came in a period in which officials were trying to clean up the image of the sport in a league riddled with corruption. A betting scandal in the early 1980s meant it was decided, ahead of the 1984-85 season, to assign referees to matches randomly. Verona, fueled by the scoring wizardry of Danish stiker Preben Elljaer and Italian Giuseppe Galderisi, and with the creative skills of Hans-Peter Briegel, Pietro Fanna and Antonio Di Gennaro, collected a series of famous wins, including a 2-0 victory over Juventus, in which Elkjaer scored a goal after losing a boot in a tackle outside the box, and against a well-drilled Roma side. A 1-1 draw with Atalanta in Bergamo sealed the championship with a four-point lead over Torino.

Gent (Belgium, 2014-15): Close to bankruptcy in 1999, Gent won its first title last season and became the first Belgians into Champions League knockout stages - all on a budget of around just 30 million euros

Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia, 2013): The Western Sydney Wanderers completed a fairytale run to become champion of Asia barely two years after the club was founded. The Wanderers picked up momentum after winning the A-League title in their inaugural season in 2013 and went on to knock out defending Asian Champions League holder Guangzhou Evergrande before beating Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal over two legs in the final, booking a place in the FIFA Club World Cup. Led by former Crystal Palace defender Tony Popovic, the Wanderers became the first Australian side to win Asia's premier club competition.

Zarya (Soviet Union, 1971-72): The club from the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, Zarya Voroshilovgrad won promotion into the Soviet top flight in 1968. It began the 1972 championship with a three-match win streak, beating Dynamo Kiev 3-0, Spartak Moscow 3-1 and Dynamo Moscow 1-0. Zarya eventually finished five points ahead of runner-up Dynamo Kiev for the title. After the fall of Soviet Union, the club was renamed Zorya Lygansk and played in the Ukrainian league top flight until 1996, when it was relegated. In 2006 it won promotion back to the top division.

(China Daily 04/02/2016 page12)