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Jamie Carragher: 'Leicester City deserve respect'

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher insists that Leicester City deserve to be taken seriously as Premier League title contenders.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that Leicester City deserve more respect for their performances throughout the season.

The Foxes are currently top of the Premier League table, three points clear of second-placed Manchester City ahead of their meeting at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.

Claudio Ranieri's side are not the favourites with the bookmakers, however, and their ability to hold on to first place has been questioned in various quarters.

Carragher has admitted that he is finding it hard to accept criticism of Leicester, who he believes deserve to be taken more seriously.

"What do you look for from the Premier League champions? The first thing you expect them to have is one of the leading scorers in the division, a man who has made the difference in the big moments," Carragher wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

"Next you would anticipate them having the best player in the country, someone whose performances have lit up the campaign and inspired those around him. After that, you would assume they would have the fewest losses and win the games that matter. Leicester City tick every single one of those boxes.

"So why are they not being taken seriously still? How come opposition fans are thinking 'It's only Leicester', as if to imply they should be beating them easily? They wouldn't be that way before a game against Manchester City or Arsenal, so why be like that before facing the league leaders?"

Leicester's Jamie Vardy has scored 18 Premier League goals this season, including twice in a 2-0 win over Liverpool on Tuesday night.

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1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
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11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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