5 teams that can pull off a Leicester in the next few seasons

Leicester City had a fairytale 2015-16 season. Prior to that, the only time we heard their name was in a debate on whether it's pronounced "Lay-ces-ter" or "Lai-ches-ter". Then Claudio Ranieri weaved his magic as Leicester defeated giant after giant on the way to a memorable and logic-defying triumph.

The image of the Leicester City players celebrating when Eden Hazard scored the equalizer against Tottenham, to all but mathematically ensure title victory for Leicester is etched in the memory of all football fans.

The midfield duo of N'golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater, with Riyad Mahrez on the wing and Jamie Vardy up front, had the time of their lives and let's face it, who doesn't love to watch the underdog win?

At the start of the season, Leicester City were 5000/1 to win the Premier League. In the bookmaker's list, the odds that Hugh Hefner would admit that he was a virgin was 1000/1 and the odds that the Lochness Monster would be discovered was 500/1 i.e. 10 times more likely.

This puts a number on how unlikely the event was and statistically, we might not get to witness another such event for decades. But since when has football strictly followed the laws of mathematics?

Here's a look at 5 teams that are most likely to pull off a Leicester City in the next few seasons:-

---

#5 Burnley

Burnley have been making steady progress under Sean Dyche

Burnley is probably the first name that comes to mind when you think of teams that have punched above their weight recently. Currently, they sit seventh in the Premier League and level on points with Spurs. Yes, let that sink in.

They have kept 6 clean sheets this season, the third highest number after the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal. They have conceded only 12 goals, third lowest in the league and tied with Chelsea.

Stephen Ward, Ben Mee, Matthey Lowton, James Tarkowski and Nick Pope in goal have made the lives of their opponents extremely hard as they have put up solid defensive displays whenever they are out on the field.

They beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by three goals to two in the opening day of the current season. They followed it up with two 1-1 draws against Spurs at Wembley and against Liverpool at Anfield.

Arsenal had to rely on a 92nd-minute penalty from Alexis Sanchez to beat them and only City have managed to win by a handsome margin against this resolute Burnley defence.

They don't score too many goals, they are 13th in the league in terms of goals scored with only 14 goals. They don't take too many shots either. Burnley are 13th in the league in terms of shots taken.

Their defence is what makes them tick and that is why they are having such a fine run in the league. As Sir Alex Ferguson once said:-

" Attack wins you games ,defence wins you titles".

It has been an incredible season for Burnley when we factor in the shoestring budget on which the club runs when compared to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.

They have been led by Sean Dyche since 2012, making him the third longest-serving manager of any club in the Premier League this season, after Arsene Wenger and Eddie Howe of Bournemouth.

He has ushered in an era of stability that has seen their rise of Burnley from League One to the Premier League.

If anybody is about to pull off a Leicester, then Burnley are surely among the best bets.

#4 Brighton and Hove Albion

Brighton recently frustrated Manchester United for large parts of the game

It surely does seem fanciful to think that Brighton has the ability to win the Premier League even in the next 50 years but then again, isn't that what we would've thought pre-2015/2016, had anyone told us that Leicester City would win the Premier League and make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League?

Brighton have started the season well enough. They did get thrashed at home by Liverpool but it would be wrong to write them off completely on the basis of one match.

Brighton also functions on the back of a well-organized defence that has kept 5 clean sheets-- the fourth highest number in the league.

Like Burnley, they don't score too many, with 14 goals in 15 matches. They mostly rely on the long ball out of defence with 1,097 long passes this season (2nd highest after Burnley).

Their trump card, however, is their German midfielder, Pascal Gross. Gross has 5 assists, the 4th highest in the league and has also chipped in with 3 goals, thus directly being involved in 57.14% of Brighton's goals this season. They will do well to retain his services for next season. However, if they do they will be among the strongest contenders to pull off a miracle.

It would be disrespectful to the club and their players to write off their chances in the next few years.

#3 Watford

Richarlison has been in fine form for Watford this season

Watford are another one of the most likely candidates to take the Premier League by storm. They sit 8th in the League, just 3 points off the top 6 and have been in fine form recently. They drew against Spurs at the Vicarage Road in a match where they will feel hard done by certain refereeing decisions. They gave scares to both Chelsea and Manchester United and beat Arsenal at home. The only major blot this season has been their 6-0 thrashing away to City at the Etihad.

They have a strong midfield with Richarlison and Doucoure. Both of them have scored 5 goals each this season and Richarlison has also provided 3 assists thus making him one of the most prolific midfielders in the league.

Watford have scored 25 goals this season, the 6th highest in the league but the issue has been with their defence which has conceded 26 goals-- the 16th worst record in the league. However, they have managed to keep 5 clean sheets and that will provide some sort of comfort.

In the last few seasons, they barely escaped relegation and finished in the bottom half of the table and it is time for them to unlock their true potential.

Their style of play under Marco Silva this season is reminiscent of Leicester in the 2015/16 season and they have the mercuric Troy Deeney who is a true leader leading the attack.

Watford are surely one of the best bets to script the next rags-to-riches story.

#2 Southampton

Southampton have a tough set of fixtures coming up

Southampton have been on the verge of breaking into the top 5, finishing 8th, 6th and 7th respectively, in the last 3 seasons.

They have repeatedly suffered from the loss of their best players to top clubs in England. Starting from Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, to Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw more recently, they have acted as a feeder club for the big teams in England and that has hurt their chances. Despite this exodus of top players every season, they have managed to perform quite admirably in the past few years.

This season, however, they have struggled to replicate their performances of the last few seasons but they have a very talented squad that is quite capable of doing extremely well in the league.

Dusan Tadic is an immensely talented midfielder. In the 2015/16 season, the Serbian scored 7 goals and notched up 12 assists as Southampton finished 6th in the league.

Oriol Romeu, the former Chelsea and Barcelona man is one of the best defensive midfielders around and can even score important goals, as seen against Man City recently.

In goal, they have the reliable Fraser Forster who towers above everyone at 6 feet 7 inches tall and is surprisingly agile for a man of his size. Ryan Bertrand at left-back is also a Champions League winner and one of the best players in England in his position. Their manager, Mauricio Pellegrino, is also a proven winner with one UEFA Cup and 2 La Liga titles with Valencia under his belt.

Southampton have long remained in the shadow of the big London and Manchester clubs and it is time for them to step out. Given their performances in the last few years and the talent their squad possesses, it would be unreasonable to discount their ability to take the Premier League by storm.

#1 Leicester City

Leicester City thrashed Tottenham Hotspur

How could this list not have Leicester City? They did it once, they can surely do it again.

The base of the midfield that won the League has been lost with both N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater moving to Chelsea. However, they have done well to retain the services of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. The two have recently shown glimpses of getting back to their title-winning season's brilliance. Mahrez has scored 3 goals and assisted 7 this season while Vardy has already scored 7 goals.

Kasper Schmeichel has time and again proved that he is a worthy successor to his father, the legend Peter Schmeichel, and Wes Morgan seems to age like fine wine, as he dishes out match-winning performances week in and week out, even at the age of 33. The duo at the heart of the Leicester defence makes a formidable pair that has kept 4 clean sheets in the league this season.

Leicester has been on a fine run this season with a well-crafted victory over Tottenham recently followed by a win over Burnley that took them to 9th in the league. After a dry spell in between, the sacking of Craig Shakespeare and the subsequent hiring of Claude Puel seems to have rejuvenated the Leicester squad.

There was a period of instability last season, with the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri. Everybody thought this was a wrong move with former England international Gary Lineker saying that he shed a tear when he heard the news. Ranieri was replaced by caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare.

In the end, it turned out to be a fruitful decision as they reached the Quarter Finals of the Champions League and rose from one point above the relegation zone at the time of Ranieri's sacking to finishing strongly in at 12th.

This season they have shown glimpses of how good they can be and even though they aren't going to be anyone’s first choice to win the league in the upcoming seasons, who would bet against them pulling off a repeat of 2015/16?