Leicester City 1 win from Premier League title

London, April 26

Leicester City is one win away from its first Premier League title after Tottenham Hotspur was held 1-1 by West Bromwich Albion.

Leicester, a team transformed since narrowly avoiding relegation a year ago, can clinch the biggest prize in its 132-year history by beating Manchester United on Sunday.

Holding a seven-point lead over Tottenham, Leicester has three chances to become one of the unlikeliest champions of the English top flight and the first maiden title-winner since Nottingham Forest in 1978.

The bookmaking industry faces its biggest loss in Premier League history. So unexpected was their title chase that William Hill had quoted Leicester as 5,000-1 outsiders at the start of the season. Now the loss to bookmakers stands at some 10 million pounds ($14.55 million), William Hill said in a statement.

A man from Guildford, England stands to earn the highest individual payout after he wagered 75 pounds at 1,500-1 just a few weeks into the campaign, it said. He has not cashed out and so now stands to win 1,12,500 pounds.

In total, William Hill face a final payout of a little over three million pounds if Leicester beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

“We stand to lose a small fortune if Leicester do what everybody must now be expecting them to do. 5,000-1 is the biggest priced winner in betting history!” William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly said. — Agencies