Leicester's rock-solid defence has been the bedrock of their incredible title charge… Troy Deeney offers fascinating insight into facing the Premier League's best backline 

Leicester continue to defy the odds and surge towards a remarkable Premier League title triumph.

Captain Wes Morgan headed in a bullet winner to secure three more crucial points for Claudio Ranieri's side against Southampton on Sunday, who have now won 1-0 for the fifth time in six matches.

As a result the resolute Foxes are now seven points clear of nearest rivals Tottenham at the top of the league with just six fixtures remaining.

Leicester captain Wes Morgan wields away in celebration after scoring the winner against Southampton

Watford striker Troy Deeney (right) analysed how Leicester have been so successful on MOTD2

The Foxes central defensive partnership of Robert Huth and Wes Morgan has been magnificent

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri raises his arm as the King Power Stadium erupts after Morgan's goal

Leicester's sublime attacking talent of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have dominated this season for their scoring exploits but their ascent to league leaders has been built on a rock-solid defence.

The towering centre back partnership of captain Morgan and Robert Huth have provided Ranieri's men with a platform to express their attacking flair.

Watford striker Troy Deeney, who has battled against this formidable Foxes defence twice this season, gave a fascinating insight on Match of the Day 2, explaining what is feels like attempting to break down this formidable back line.

Seen as surplus to requirements at Chelsea and then Stoke, Robert Huth has fought back to become one of the most brutal and effective defenders in the league this season. Similarly, Morgan was let go by Nottingham Forest for £1million in 2012, a bargain now. 

'I have played against every Premier League defence this season for Watford, and Leicester's Robert Huth is the toughest opponent I have faced.

'Huth is the sort of centre-half who will let you know he is there, so to speak, with a challenge or two early in the game.

Deeney describes Huth (centre) as 'horrible to play against, in the most complimentary way'

'But when I got my chance, I made sure I let him know I was about too. To be fair, he did not seem to mind,' Deeney told MOTD2.

'Like his team-mate Wes Morgan, who I had many battles with in the Championship earlier in our careers, Huth is old-school - an out-and-out defender who really enjoys the physical side of the game.

'That is normally the side I thrive on too, but I did not have much joy against the German. He is horrible to play against, in the most complimentary way.

'He heads it, he kicks it, and he kicks you - anything - he does not care, as long as the ball does not go in.

'Huth is not a player who gives you verbals when you are out on the pitch - in both games against him this season, he hardly talked to me.'

The Watford striker highlights the success of the Leicester foundation is a vocal matter.

'In terms of talking to each other, the whole Leicester defence never stopped for the entire game, including Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

'And if Danny Drinkwater did not hear the right call then he was always going back from midfield and asking what was what too. That is one of the reasons they are so well organised at the back.'

Morgan is congratulated by his defensive partner Robert Huth having scored the against the Saints

In his two games facing the Foxes backline this season, Deeney admits he struggled to impose his game on the league leaders, revealing that the Leicester back line is so well regimented that it is a monumental task to try and move the defenders out of position. 

'Part of my job leading the line for Watford is to occupy centre-halves - by that I mean those battles with Huth, say, to try to win headers when the ball is played forward.

'But I also look to bring centre-halves out of position to the flanks and make space for my team-mates in the middle,' added Deeney.

'It is difficult to do that against Leicester because their centre-halves, Huth and Wes Morgan, never put themselves in danger of being isolated.

'When Watford had the ball in wide areas they kind of left us to it, and concentrated on dealing with the cross rather than stopping it being put in.

'Huth and Morgan take two positions - one takes the near post and the other takes the middle of the box near the penalty spot as if to say "go on, cross it, and we will deal with it".'

Morgan lands having scored his first goal of the season as Ranieri's men secured another 1-0 victory

Leicester captain Wes Morgan salutes the home fans having headed the Foxes ahead on Sunday

Here is the average team positing for Leicester

Deeney highlights how the Leicester full backs buck the modern trend of continuously surging forward, that they understand their collective role and defensive responsibilities too. 

'The other thing that makes it harder to break down Leicester than the other top teams is that both their full-backs are very switched-on defensively.

'Most full-backs in the Premier League bomb on now, and I don't want to be disrespectful to them but it is often a lot easier when you are up against a right winger who has been switched to a right-back.

'It seems to be more about how good they are going forward, and there are not many who are as solid as Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs are for Leicester,' added the Hornets forward.

'Yes, they can join the attack too, as Fuchs showed with his cross for their winner against Southampton, but if he is forward down the left then you know Simpson will drop in rather than getting up the pitch down the right too.

'The whole team all know their jobs, from front to back, and they all work very hard too.

Ranieri's side have only lost in the Premier League to Arsenal and Liverpool this campaign and Deeney is adamant it is because of their mindset, cohesion and trust in the plan that the Italian formulates.

'I am not surprised to find out that Shinji Okazaki is the most substituted player in the Premier League this season, because he runs himself into the ground every time.

Leicester players continue to celebrate as they enjoy a seven point lead at the top of the Premier League

'It would be easy for the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy to say "we are too good for this" but they don't.

'Leicester are still playing the same counter-attacking football they were playing home and away in the first half of the season, but they are getting better at it and I can see why they have only lost three league games out of 32 so far.' 

The work of Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante in the Leicester engine room has rightly earned the plaudits for the Foxes. 

N'Golo Kante's heatmap against Southampton

Drinkwater failed to make the grade at Manchester United but they are now craving a hungry and tireless player like the 26-year-old in their midfield.

The combination with Kante,a £5.6m purchase from Caen is staggering, the France international is arguably the signing of the summer.

'When the ball was played forward to me against Leicester, I had to try to bring it down and hold it up with Huth behind me grappling with me and putting me under pressure.

'Then you have also got N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater buzzing around you too.

'Kante was just everywhere against us - I was watching the Southampton game in the Match of the Day 2 production office and he was the same in that match too.

'If he is taking a breather, which is not often, then Drinkwater is there doing exactly the same.

'You don't know where they are coming from, but you know they are coming, so when you have got the ball you are thinking 'I need to lay it off quickly'.

'It works so well because they are both so energetic. If one of them gets forward, then he knows the other has got the legs to cover for him.

'If teams want to come through the middle, they have to get past those two first.

'And, as we saw against Southampton, you don't just have to get past Kante, you have to keep him behind you, which is the hardest part. He has been the best midfielder in the Premier League this season.'

Deeney also explained how the Leicester work rate gives opponents no time or space on the ball

N'Golo Kante (left) has been in magnificent form for the Foxes, shielding the Leicester back four

Leicester are a far cry from a team that just counter-attacks. Deeney explains how the Premier League leaders manipulate their opponents to build in confidence and stature before pouncing with their attacking speed. 

'With Kante and Drinkwater in the middle, in front of their centre-halves, they kind of funnel teams wide, and invite them to cross.

'As I said earlier, Huth and Morgan are waiting for the ball to come in but what makes Leicester different from a lot of the top teams is that their full-backs are prepared for it too.

'Dealing with crosses at the back post might be a weakness with some of those sides who have wingers at full-back because they are less likely to win headers, but Simpson and Fuchs tuck in and know what they have to do.

'They are very effective when the ball comes in and it means that, as a striker, you cannot pull on to them to avoid the big centre-halves either.

'Allowing teams to cross is part of their attacking ploy too,' added Deeney.

'Leicester are the kind of team that want you to get a little bit confident when you come forward, thinking you are on top.

'Then, when you commit men forward and are getting excited because you are having all these crosses and think the momentum is with you, that is when they pounce with a quick break using the pace of their forwards.'

Drinkwater (left) works with Kante in the midfield to funnel teams wide, and invite them to cross

Unsurprisingly it is a party atmosphere down at the King Power Stadium as Leicester continue to dismiss the pressure and storm towards a maiden Premier League title 

'The support that Leicester get at the King Power Stadium is the kind of thing that will help them get over the line.

'If the team is nervy, like they were at the back end of Sunday's game, then their fans are not stupid - they realised their team needed them and raised the noise levels again,' said the Watford forward.

'Part of that is down to the thousands of cardboard clappers the club leave out on the seats for fans before games.

The Leicester fans cheer on their Premier League leaders during the match with Southampton on Sunday

'I think that actually started in the Championship play-offs in 2013, when we beat them in the semi-finals.

'I remember it being a bit annoying in the first leg at their place when their fans were using them but, now I am playing in the Premier League, I actually appreciated the noise when we went there.

'I don't want to sound too critical, but a lot of fans at some grounds I go to have got cameras in their hands, taking pictures of anything rather than generating any atmosphere during the game.

'At Leicester, it was all about getting behind their team.'