Football: 1000/1 bet pays off for Leicester City fan

Riyad Mahrez has been one of Leicester City's best. Photo / Getty

Christmas has come early for one Leicester City fan, whose optimistic bet on the Foxes to be top of the Premier League on December 25 has earned him a cool £5,000 ($NZ11,000).

Keval Nakeshree, from Gloucester, headed to his local Ladbrokes at the start of the season to place £5 ($NZ11) on the 1000/1 shot, and has now earned a nice festive bonus courtesy of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Co.

Leicester's 3-2 victory against Everton last weekend took their record to 11 wins in 17 matches, and secured their place at the top of the tree on Christmas Day.

Nakeshree, 38, clearly delighted with his mammoth win, posed for photographs in his local betting shop this week, alongside a personalised Foxes shirt with his name on the back.

The 2015-16 Premier League season has upset the odds, with Leicester's incredible run of form just the tip of the iceberg.

At the start of the campaign, Chelsea were 13/8 favourites to secure back-to-back league titles, but the now Mourinho-less Blues have drifted to 250/1... in fact, they're more likely to be plying their trade in the second tier next season.

Foxes striker Vardy, one of the main reasons for the league leaders' success in the first half of the season, was 500/1 to finish top scorer in August.

Now, 15 goals later, he is 9/4 and anyone backing that bet looks more like a wise man than a Christmas turkey.

Arsenal beat Manchester City on Monday night to close the gap on Leicester to two points, and Claudio Ranieri's side will do well to maintain top spot given their tough run of fixtures.

Mahrez and Co travel to Liverpool on Boxing Day, before hosting Manchester City in their final game of 2015 on December 29.

- Daily Mail