Leicester City's remarkable pursuit of the Premier League title has even made an impression in Hollywood, with Tom Hanks joking on 25 April that he had bet on the Midlands side to win the championship.

After narrowly escaping relegation last season, charismatic Italian Claudio Ranieri has masterminded the team's surreal rise to the top of the table and with just three games remaining his team are in touching distance of winning their first ever league title.

The Foxes started the season as 5,000-1 no-hopers and Hanks, while bemoaning the relegation of the Aston Villa team he supports, joked at the premiere of his new film A Hologram For The King that he had backed Leicester for the title.

"You know what I did at the beginning of the season? I put 100 quid on Leicester so I think I'll do okay," he said. "Maybe I did or maybe I didn't. You know you should find somebody you know, somebody local up there who decided to put £25 on their local football club, they are going to be millionaires."

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