Don Goodman reveals whether he thinks Leicester City can beat Reading FC record | OneFootball

Leicester City's points total currently has them on course to smash Reading's 2006 Championship record, in spite of a small dip in form recently.

The Foxes are back in the second tier for the first time in nine years after they endured an incredibly disappointing campaign last season as they were relegated just two seasons after an FA Cup triumph, with Dean Smith unable to save them from the drop after replacing Brendan Rodgers on a short-term contract in April.

They have Pep Guardiola's former assistant Enzo Maresca at the helm now and their season could not be more contrasting with last year. They will be hoping for an immediate return to the top-flight this term and are well on course.

They did not lose too many key players this summer, after James Maddison and Harvey Barnes departed for big-money, and they ended up with a side who would arguably be capable of survival in the Premier League even now.

That partly explains why they are one of the most formidable sides in the division, and well on course for a similar points-haul to the last time they played at Championship level, when they amassed 102 points, just shy of Reading's 106-point haul.

They have just two wins in their last five league games, but won 13 of their first 14, which is the best start by any second tier side. They are averaging 2.42 points per game so far, which puts them on course to finish on over 110 points on current projections.

Don Goodman's Leicester City verdict

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert Don Goodman believes Leicester City have the quality and resources to smash Reading's points tally, should they keep their standards high during the run-in at the back end of the campaign.

Goodman, speaking to BoyleSports who offer the latest EFL Betting, said: "I think they can beat the record if they want to. What I've seen over the last few years is some amazing Championship teams, particularly the likes of Wolves, Fulham, and Burnley last season. They could have all beaten it if they wanted to.

"But what happens is, they get promoted so early and it almost seems like they take their eye off the ball a little bit and they drop points that you wouldn't expect them to. I remember seeing that brilliant Wolves team (2017/18) go to the Stadium of Light on the last day of the season and lose 3-0 to an already-relegated Sunderland, which should never happen and would never have happened if they needed the points.

"So it's the mentality, really. On paper, this is the best squad of players, with the most depth, most talent, the most experience and the most rounded I've ever seen in the Championship. They're almost halfway there (to 106 points). It's theirs to beat if they want to, but it will be down to them.

"As for Reading and the differences, football is a different game from when they did it (2006). Most teams played the same way and were slightly more direct. You had to win your battles and be more physical. It was a brilliant Reading team, but this Leicester team has the potential to smash every Championship record if it wants to."

Leicester still have a Premier League squad, and perhaps most fans were expecting more of a fire sale in the summer than what actually transpired. However, the likes of Jamie Vardy, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Ricardo Pereira are all players who have been involved in European adventures with Leicester in recent years, and all of whom belong in the top-flight.

They have formed the foundation this season as well, whilst the Foxes also added quality in the likes of Conor Coady, Stephy Mavididi, Harry Winks, alongside players such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Justin who are just some of the other names who underline what the rest of the division has to contend with. Pound-for-pound, this is arguably the best Championship side of all-time in terms of the strength in depth of Leicester's current team, as Goodman alludes to.

They should be a side who gets to over 100 points this season and won't need major surgery in order to be a highly competitive top-flight outfit next season, if they do gain promotion. Even when they play below their usual standards, Leicester have enough difference-makers to drag them through games and that could see them break records, if they don't take their foot off the gas in the latter stages of the season, as Goodman rightly points out.