Leicester City have been the Premier League's surprise packages this season, and the Foxes currently sit on top of the table. Can they make it on to the winners' podium in May?

Any football fan certainly knows that the unexpected oftentimes becomes the expected. That is one of the appeals of the world's most popular sport, and one attractive aspect about the Premier League in particular is the fact that it's not a monopoly or duopoly. In fact, at the start of every campaign, there are usually at least four or five sides with a fighting chance to clinch the coveted crown in May.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal are among the squads mentioned season after season when anyone discusses title contenders. However, the 2015/2016 Premier League term by far has been the most interesting one in recent times. Why? Well, for one, Chelsea, who are currently the reigning champions, have been an utter disaster this season and are still struggling to get into the top ten, let alone make any effective challenge to retain their title. But arguably the most eyebrow raising aspect has been what team currently boasts the best record in the league: Leicester City.

Leicester City: From the Championship to champions of England?

In the 2013/2014 campaign, Leicester City were featuring in English football's second tier. The Foxes made their return to the upper echelon in the following year after winning the Championship, but endured a miserable time; in fact, they spent 19 out of the 38 rounds marooned at the bottom of the table. Relegation seemed inevitable until they managed to win seven out of their final nine matches to claw their way up into a 14th-placed finish.

Flash-forward nine months and Leicester are now not just thriving and flourishing, but they are dominating. Yes, Claudio Ranieri's side are on top of the Premier League, currently enjoy a five point lead over second-placed Tottenham, and boast the most prolific striker in the league, with Jamie Vardy having scored 18 goals to date.

And to top things off, they have not exactly been sitting back and "parking the bus": with 47 goals, they are tied with Manchester City for the best attack in the league. Only three fixtures have seen the Foxes fail to score, and one of these was during their 1-0 loss to Liverpool, which also happens to be one out of only two two losses this season.

Ranieri and Vardy received the Premier League manager and player of the month in November

All this is simply astounding given that the best ever finish the Foxes have ever achieved in the upper tier was a runners-up spot in the 1928/1929 season, when the Premier League was known as Division One. Still, many had expected the Cinderella story to come to an end at some point, with this season's surprise packages to fall back down into mid-table obscurity.

Well, that has not happened - yet - and does not look likely to occur. With 13 rounds remaining till May, the question becomes: Can Leicester City go all the way? Let's have a look at their run-in of fixtures between now and the conclusion of the 2015/2016 Premier League season.

Arsenal vs. Leicester City: A tough match for the Foxes

Valentines' Day will bring a mouth-watering clash between the Gunners and the Foxes at the Emirates. Arsene Wenger's side are the only other team to have beaten Ranieri's troops this season, when they trounced them 5-2 in round seven. With the exception of the London giants, no team has ever put more than two goals past the Foxes' tough back-line and the visitors will be coming into this match having picked up an impressive 3-1 win over Manchester City.

Arsenal are one of only two teams to have taken all three points from an impressive Leicester side this season

Meanwhile, Arsenal finally ended a four-match winless streak by defeating Bournemouth 2-0 and this will be desperate to complete a double over Leicester to close the gap to two. However, as indicated previously, Leicester have lost just once on the road and will give the Gunners a stern test on Sunday. Should the Gunners manage to complete a double over the Foxes, the gap will be narrowed to two points. This will be the same gap between them and Tottenham should Spurs beat Manchester City in Sunday's other blockbuster fixture.

From Norwich City to Chelsea: Leicester's path to the winners' podium

After this Sunday's game against Arsenal, Leicester will have played all of the other three sides that are challenging them for the Premier League title. Their next fixture will be against struggling side Norwich City. This is a game in which they should have no trouble picking up three points and potentially widening their lead - especially since Arsenal will have to take on Manchester United in a possibly tricky match.

Following that, it's on to West Brom, Watford, and Newcastle - all teams that the Foxes could potentially add another nine points to their tally; at the worst, they may end up drawing one and winning two, but certainly they will not be expected to drop more than one or two points out of this batch. Crystal Palace will come up next which will be in the same round as the Manchester Derby and Arsenal taking on Everton on the road. All three could be tough for the trio of title aspirants, but Leicester should have built up enough momentum in order to remain ahead of the pack.

Here's an interesting look at how the title contenders compare, with Manchester United clearly viewed as a rank outsider to be on the winners' podium in May

 

Southampton, Sunderland, West Ham, Swansea, and Manchester United will be the Foxes' opponents in April. Although the Red Devils have not impressed this season, they still have the ability to cause this season's surprise packages trouble at Old Trafford, and Leicester fans could see their team suffer what could be their third defeat of the season. Whilst this is all going on in April, Tottenham will have to take on Chelsea in a London Derby, and City will also have to face the Blues. And despite their struggles, they could cause both sides to drop points, meaning that Leicester have even more opportunity to pull further ahead of the chasing group.

Finally, it will be back-to-back clashes with the Blues - Everton and Chelsea - to wrap up Leicester's outstanding Premier League campaign. During the same weekend that they face Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City will face off, but regardless of the outcome, the Foxes should still stay at the pinnacle of the table. Coincidentally, they will wrap up their season at the home of the reigning champions and given Chelsea's unsteady form this campaign, one might not want to bet against Leicester concluding the 2015/2016 term with a hard-fought win.

So will Premier League fans see a surprise champion this May? Well, simply put - the title is Leicester's to lose - and after such an excellent campaign so far, it will be hard to find those who would be totally shocked to see the cunning Foxes lifting that coveted Premier League crown.