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Connor Maguire · 11 August 2026
League One football at the King Power Stadium. If you told me that five years ago, I would have laughed. I am not laughing now. This is where Leicester City find themselves in August 2026, and the only thing that matters is how they respond to it. Saturday's home fixture against Burton Albion is exactly the kind of game that will tell us everything we need to know about this group's attitude.
The thing is, Leicester have done the basics correctly so far. One game played, one game won, one clean sheet. They have not been blown away by the occasion. The numbers back that up. They are averaging 77 per cent possession in their opening fixture and generating eight shots per game. They are keeping the ball, they are keeping opponents out, and they are winning. In League One, that is the foundation.
Their clean sheet percentage sits at 100 per cent through the early weeks. That will not last the entire season, nobody's does, but it tells you the defensive shape is right and the players are buying into whatever the manager is asking of them. Accountability from back to front. That is what you need at this level if you are serious about getting out of it quickly.
Listen, I am not going to crown them on the back of one result. One win tells you almost nothing. But the manner of it matters. Controlling the ball for three quarters of the game, limiting the opposition to nothing, scoring and shutting the door. That is professional. That is what a squad with Leicester's resources should be doing in League One. The standards have been set. Now they have to maintain them.
Burton are a different kind of problem. They are not a bad side. Over their last ten games overall, they have won three, drawn five and lost two. They are grinding out results. They are competing. You have to give them credit for that.
But look at the away form more carefully. In their last five away matches, Burton have won one, drawn three and lost one. Forty per cent clean sheets on the road. They are hard to beat when they travel, but they are also not cutting teams apart. One game in five producing more than two and a half goals away from home. That is a side that comes to defend, frustrate and nick something.
The thing is, that approach works against teams who cannot control a game. It does not work against a Leicester side sitting on 77 per cent possession. If you cannot get the ball off them, you cannot defend for ninety minutes forever. Eventually the pressure tells. Burton know that. Their players know that. The question is whether their discipline and desire to compete holds firm for the full ninety.
Their last five results overall read DDDWD. Four draws and a win in five. No defeats, which is impressive, but also a side that keeps things tight rather than imposing themselves. At home they have been more positive, winning three of their last five home matches. But this is not their home. This is the King Power. The atmosphere, the expectation, the quality of the home squad. That changes things.
Let me be straightforward about this. Leicester are a Premier League club operating in League One. That is unacceptable by any standard. But since they are here, the only acceptable outcome is domination. Week after week. No excuses, no dropped points against sides like Burton Albion.
Burton finished 17th in this division last season. Thirteen wins, fifteen draws, eighteen defeats. They are a mid-table League One outfit. Leicester should have the quality, the desire, and the standards to beat them at home. It really is that simple. If they do not, the questions about whether this squad has the right mentality will start immediately.
The home advantage matters here too. Leicester's home record last season in League One shows one win from one game played this term, carrying forward the momentum. Burton's away form, while respectable, shows a side that has not been winning regularly on their travels. One away win in the last five. Against a Leicester side with superior quality, that record does not inspire confidence for the visitors.
Leicester need to win this game. Not scrape it, not grind it out on penalties in some hypothetical scenario. Win it. Preferably with another clean sheet. The defensive basics have been good. Keep that going. In attack, 77 per cent possession is irrelevant if you are not converting it into goals. Eight shots per game is not a huge number. They need to be more clinical, more direct when the moment arrives.
Burton will sit deep. They will compress the space. They will make it difficult. That is their way and I respect the accountability they show in their defensive organisation. But Leicester's quality should be the difference. The desire to win this fixture, to keep the momentum going, to show their own supporters that standards are non-negotiable at this club regardless of the division they are playing in. That is what matters on Saturday afternoon.
If Leicester's players do not feel embarrassed turning up to League One each week, that is a problem in itself. That embarrassment should be the fuel. Channel it correctly and you win this game comfortably. Fail to channel it and you draw against a side that has already drawn four of their last five. The choice is theirs.
Leicester to win. The class gap is too wide, the home advantage too significant, and Burton's away record too modest for me to see any other outcome. A clean sheet is very much on. Leicester's defensive organisation has been good and Burton score goals in fewer than half their away games. Back Leicester to win and keep it tight. One selection, placed with conviction. End of.
Correct means the selection settled as won on the 90-minute result. Every selection counted here was recorded before kickoff. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
