Leicester City's impressive bid for Champions League qualification once again looks set to go down to a nail-biting finish following a 3-2 defeat by rivals West Ham earlier this month.
The Foxes sit third in the Premier League, with Brendan Rodgers' side again punching well above their weight throughout the campaign.
However, the gap has shrunk to the teams behind them in recent weeks due to an in-form West Ham, Chelsea's improvement under Thomas Tuchel and a resurgent Liverpool all closing in with seven games to go.
Leicester gave up a 14-point advantage over Manchester United last season to miss out on the Champions League on the final day of the season and are determined to avoid a repeat this time round.
They could do with replicating their FA Cup form - they face Chelsea in the final - for the closing stretch of the Premier League. Here, Sportsmail looks at the issues currently at hand for Leicester and what they need to overcome to seal the deal.
That tricky run-in
History is threatening to repeat itself as, just like last year, Leicester have a daunting run-in to finish the season.
Leicester missed out on Champions League qualification last year after closing the campaign with defeats to Tottenham and Manchester United - with the latter overtaking the Foxes just before the final game to finish in the top four.
The Foxes again play both sides in the final three games of this season, with the perhaps dubious bonus of playing Chelsea inbetween.
Ending the season with three of the so called 'Big Six' means the Foxes arguably have the toughest run-in of all the challengers to make the top four.
Their gap in the league is no longer comfortable. After their 5-0 victory over Sheffield United in March, Leicester sat third in the standings, five points above Chelsea, eight ahead of West Ham and 13 ahead of Liverpool.
But defeats to Manchester City and West Ham have enabled their rivals to close the gap with just three points separating third-placed Leicester to sixth-placed Liverpool - while Everton could also get into the mix.
Before their tricky end to the season, they do thankfully have some favourable-looking games still to come against West Brom (tonight), Crystal Palace, Southampton and Newcastle.
It almost feels imperative that the Foxes take maximum points from these games to put themselves in the strongest possible position before they play Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
Rodgers will be pushing his side hard to avoid a repeat of last season's disappointment, with questions likely to be asked of his and the Foxes' character if they miss out once again.
Their match against Chelsea, currently scheduled for May 15 will be shifted as they face the same opponents for the FA Cup that day. But that league clash could well prove to be the match that determines their fate.
Get Jamie Vardy firing again
Jamie Vardy has been Leicester's talismanic figure ever since they returned to the Premier League in the 2014-15 season.
He was arguably their most important player when he scored 24 goals as they shocked the world to clinch the title the following season, and won the Golden Boot last season when they returned to challenging for the top four.
For Leicester to succeed it is widely accepted that Vardy must be firing all guns blazing.
Similar to last season, however, Vardy has hit a rough patch while approaching the crucial stage of the campaign.
In 2019-20 he scored 17 goals in the first half of the season - compared to just six in the second half.
This season his tail-off since Christmas has looked similar, with 11 goals up until the festive period, then after missing three games due to a groin surgery, he has only scored once in his last nine outings.
Fortunately for Leicester, Vardy's downturn in form has coincided with Kelechi Iheanacho's best form since joining the club, scoring seven goals in his last six league appearances.
But Leicester desperately need their star man to start shining with some tough games coming up in the run-in, which also includes an FA Cup final against Chelsea.
If Vardy returns to his goalscoring ways, it could give Leicester the spark of life they need to fend off the competition.
He has an incredible scoring record against the 'big-six' and that could be extremely important when they go into their games against Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Keep hold of the dressing room
Ahead of the hugely important game against West Ham, having three players breach Covid-19 protocol and thus forcing themselves out of the game due to disciplinary reasons is just not what Rodgers needed.
Ayoze Perez, Hamza Choudhury and influential playmaker James Maddison all missed out on the 3-2 defeat after they were sanctioned for attending a house party at the Spaniard's house.
Maddison's mistake was difficult to fathom, having only just regained fitness after a hip problem and making no secret of his desire to fight his way back into the England squad.
It was poor judgement from the three of them and something that Leicester don't need as they try to avoid a repeat of last season.
The absence of Maddison has been notable in recent weeks as he returns to fitness following a hip injury which ruled him out for four games.
He returned as he came off the bench during their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City and it had been hoped he would start against West Ham.
Maddison's creativity is a hugely important aspect of how the Foxes operate and his presence could potentially have prevented a defeat against West Ham.
He is arguably Leicester's second most important player, certainly in terms of their attacking output, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists this season.
Rodgers was noticeably and understandably frustrated when he spoke about his 'disappointment' about why Perez, Choudhury and Maddison were axed from the team against the Hammers.
He will forgive and forget quickly knowing how important it is to get Maddison fit and firing in a hugely important month for the club. But Rodgers will be strongly putting across the message that the dressing room needs to avoid a repeat of this debacle.
Keep players fit and Covid free
Much was made of Liverpool's injury crisis this season, but Leicester have had arguably even worse problems of their own this season.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is the only player that has been available for every game and at one point Rodgers had as many as nine first-team players out of action.
Caglar Soyuncu, who was a revelation last season when he replaced Harry Maguire as a regular starter in defence, is one key figure who has missed a large portion of the season.
The Turkish centre-back missed 11 games earlier in campaign with an abductor muscle injury and he has also missed the last two outings following a positive Covid-19 test.
James Justin, who was having a superb campaign at full back is unlikely to feature until November after sustaining an ACL injury and is a big miss.
It is uncertain too whether winger Harvey Barnes, who has scored nine goals this season, will be available after knee injury.
Fitness issues are a big cause for concern for Leicester, with Maddison returning from a hip injury and Vardy still to get back to his best following his groin operation.
With some hugely important games coming up, Rodgers will be hoping that his side have seen the last of their injury worries this season.
Covid-19 is another potential concern for the Foxes, as shown by Soyuncu's positive test and absence.
Leicester had several key players missing at the end of last season, including Maddison and Ricardo Pereira, and they know that keeping their best players fit and available will give them the best chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
Banish the demons
Ahead of Leicester's game with West Ham, Rodgers said his side had 'learned' from last season, insisting that they won't collapse again.
However, with the gap closing down to the teams behind them, the memories of last season will be weighing heavy on the mind of both the manager and his players.
There is huge pressure on Leicester to right the wrongs of last season and earn Champions League qualification, which their football over the past two years has richly deserved.
A cause for concern is that West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton have all taken more points than the Foxes in their last six league games.
West Ham have proven to be the surprise of the season and their victory over Leicester put them just one point behind the Foxes in fourth.
Chelsea's Champions League chances looked unlikely when Frank Lampard was sacked back in January, but since Thomas Tuchel has taken over, they have lost just one game in the league.
Liverpool started to return to form after a disastrous season with three wins on the bounce before Monday's draw at Leeds, and the reigning champions have more experience than any of putting a lengthy good run together.
Tottenham are six points down, while Everton still sit in strong position, seven points behind Leicester.
The Foxes have taken just two wins out of their last six league matches, and they need to lay down a marker in their upcoming games and pile the pressure on those behind them.
Leicester need to show that they have learned from the frustration of last season, otherwise there will be a lot of questions raised about the mentality of Rodgers and the squad for collapsing once again.