For Whom The Bell Tolls: Previewing Sunderland vs. Leicester

In the long and illustrious history of English football, there has only been one occasion in which the champions of the top flight have been relegated the following season. That was the 1937/38 campaign, when Manchester City suffered the drop despite having won the league the previous term. That was a bizarre turn of events, considering that City scored the most goals that season, and played a form of radical attacking football which many of their rivals admired. That's more than could be said of Leicester this season, a side who are currently in danger of equalling City's unwanted record and following up their title win by sliding down into the second tier.

While Leicester have doubtlessly been distracted by their Champions League exploits over the last few months, their domestic output has been fairly dire. There are some fans who would trade anything for a heroic run on the European stage but, come May, they may well feel differently, especially should they end up facing a return to the Championship. For the past year and a half, Leicester have been angelic, soaring through the heavens on gilded wings. None of their supporters want to return to the scorching hell of the second division, with its Tuesday night games, and its dreadful away trips, and Ian Holloway, who doesn't even really want to banter anymore.

For this Saturday's opponents, meanwhile, the prospect of relegation isn't even the worst case scenario. Sunderland were so poor at one point that some pundits speculated they would struggle to get even a semi-respectable tally of points. They have managed to salvage the start of the season somewhat with back-to-back wins against Bournemouth and Hull, even if they were beaten by Liverpool last weekend. With Jurgen Klopp's men second in the league as it stands, there was no particular shame in that setback, while their performance at Anfield was enough to give David Moyes some encouragement that his side are capable of mounting an escape from the dreaded bottom three.

Leicester's struggles are put into context by the fact that, should Sunderland win at the Stadium of Light, Moyes' men will be a mere two points behind them. Defeat could well see the reigning champions slip into the drop zone, should Hull and Crystal Palace get decent results. That would mean an inglorious relegation fight for Claudio Ranieri and his cohorts, haunted by the creeping and insidious shadow of the Championship. Similarly, a loss could be terminal for Sunderland's little resurgence. For whom doth the bell toll this weekend, then? Come Saturday evening, we shall find out.