Wilfred Ndidi factor could give Leicester City edge over Leeds and Ipswich: View | OneFootball

With just eight games left to play for most sides in the Championship, every point and game matters even more for the likes of Leeds United, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town in the race for automatic promotion.

However, the Foxes have relinquished their grip on top spot and have taken four points from their last five league games, including a run of three successive defeats within that, meaning their lead at the top has now been completely eradicated.

Leeds have overtaken them for the international break period, with Leicester having a solitary game in hand on Daniel Farke's side after playing an FA Cup quarter-final match with Chelsea on the same day Leeds defeated Millwall.

They had a 17-point gap to Leeds at one stage, and although things remain in the hands of Enzo Maresca's side, they will be concerned with both Leeds and Ipswich in such close proximity in the table and having suffered from a loss of form, whilst Southampton are yet to face Leicester before the end of the season and could also be a side of concern.

The trick up Enzo Maresca's sleeve

A number of Leicester's top players were expected to depart the King Power Stadium in the summer transfer window, with Harvey Barnes and James Maddison two players in particular who were tipped to leave the club.

Barnes signed for Newcastle United for around £38 million and Maddison joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £40 million. Maresca and co. put some of those funds to good use, but they also retained plenty of Premier League stars that had been a key part of some of their most successful ever sides in the top-flight, one of which was Wilfred Ndidi.

The 27-year-old was signed from Belgian side Genk for a fee of around £17 million in 2017 and has just a matter of months remaining on his deal at Leicester, having made 264 appearances for the Foxes in that time.

The central midfielder was outstanding for a while, helping them qualify for the Europa League and win the FA Cup whilst narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Champions League. Ndidi was one of the players widely expected to move on in August but he remained this season.

His role has changed somewhat under the Italian head coach, who has utilised the 27-year-old in a more advanced midfield role, but it has worked out, with Ndidi impressing in the middle of the park. In his first 24 games of the season, he scored four and collected a further six assists and established himself as a key player.

Unfortunately for Leicester, he missed around two months of action with a muscle injury, including 13 games in total and 10 league fixtures, which saw Leicester lose four times during his spell on the sidelines.

Ndidi's return for Leicester

The good news is that he has recovered from surgery and has played in the last three games, with two substitute appearances in league games against Sunderland and Hull City, and a 78-minute showing against Chelsea over the weekend.

It’s a timely boost for Leicester, with Maresca short of options in midfield. They were unable to make a player addition there amid failed interest in Inter Milan’s Stefano Sensi, while they are also now a man down after Cesare Casadei was recalled from his loan spell by Chelsea.

Ndidi has a huge presence in midfield, and is capable of impacting a game in all three thirds of the pitch, with his destructive capabilities aiding them defensively, and his output in the final third has been better than ever this term.

His long, athletic strides also eat up ground and get him about the pitch, and he could be the turning point in Leicester's season at the perfect time for the run-in. Leeds and Ipswich have good players themselves, but not many better than Ndidi, who has the ability to raise both the ceiling and floor level of their performances, at a time when consistency is absolutely imperative to secure automatic promotion.

Maresca's side. It could be pivotal for them in the final nine-game stretch.