Tottenham will be looking to return to winning ways when they travel to the King Power Stadium to face off against Leicester City this weekend.
After the disappointment of the midweek game in the UEFA Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to bounce back strongly when they lock horns with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Tottenham botched a two-goal advantage to be held to a 2-2 draw by Olympiacos in their Champions League opener this week. It was the second time that Mauricio Pochettino’s side had failed to win from a position of strength in the past couple of weeks, having bottled a two-goal lead against Arsenal to be held to a draw.
Spurs did win their last league game 4-0 against Crystal Palace, which sent them to the third place in the table. But, having failed to pick up a win on the road so far this term, they will have their task cut out against Leicester, who are fifth in the standings, level on points with Pochettino’s side.
The Foxes tasted their first defeat of the season last weekend, with Manchester United beating them 1-0. But, Brendan Rodgers’ men have collected four points from their two home games this season and will want to make the most of Tottenham’s vulnerabilities in defence.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
Matty James and Daniel Amartey are the only two injury concerns for Rodgers and Leicester heading into the game against Tottenham. The former Liverpool and Celtic manager has opted to use a 4-1-4-1 formation in recent matches and is expected to stick with the same when the Lilywhites come visiting.
In goal, there is no looking past Danish international Kasper Schmeichel, while no changes are expected in the backline either meaning Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu start at the heart of the defence, despite the latter’s shaky display against Manchester United. Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell ought to be the two full-backs for the Foxes.
Wilfried Ndidi is the obvious pick in the holding midfield role for the home team and will be tasked with breaking up Tottenham’s rhythm on the field. Youri Tielemans will occupy one of the two attacking midfield slots for the home team, while James Maddison is likely to move into a central position after starting on the left flank last game, with Hamza Choudhury dropping out.
The opening thus created on the left flank will most likely be filled by academy product Harvey Barnes, who has impressed each time he has been on the field. The right side of the midfield should be manned by workhorse Marc Albrighton, meaning Demarai Gray misses out this time. Jamie Vardy is the undisputed choice to lead the Leicester attack.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Ndidi; Albrighton, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have two players missing for their trip to Leicester this weekend with summer signings Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon ruled out of the contest. Argentine international Juan Foyth is back in training with the first-team though, handing a boost to the visitors.
Pochettino is expected to make quite a few changes to the side that started the midweek game against Olympiacos. The Davinson Sanchez at right-back experiment hasn’t quite worked out and should be canned by the manager, with Serge Aurier getting reinstated after his impressive display against Crystal Palace.
Danny Rose should return at left-back in place of Ben Davies. The Belgian centre-back duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen should continue to feature for Tottenham, with Hugo Lloris continuing in goal.
Moussa Sissoko has been one of Spurs’ most impressive performers this term and should return to the lineup on Saturday as part of the midfield double pivot. Summer signing Tanguy Ndombele is likely to be benched, with Harry Winks expected to hold on to his spot in the side, although there is a possibility that Eric Dier could make a comeback.
Lucas Moura, who scored against Olympiacos, should start on the right flank, while Son Heung-Min is expected to return to the starting XI on the left wing. Christian Eriksen should hold on to his spot in the side despite drawing criticism from fans for his performance in the midweek clash. Star striker Harry Kane will spearhead the Tottenham attack against Leicester.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Winks; Moura, Eriksen, Son; Kane
Key Stats
- Since moving to the King Power Stadium, Leicester City have won just one of their six home games against Tottenham Hotspur (D1 L4).
- Tottenham have won four of their last five Premier League games against Leicester, including each of the last three . They have never won four consecutive top-flight matches against the Foxes.
- Leicester have scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than they have against any other side (44). However, they have conceded more goals only against Manchester United (58) and Arsenal (57) in the top-flight than against their weekend opponents (48).
- Tottenham are without a win in their last eight away games in the Premier League (W0 D2 L6) – they last endured a longer winless away run in the top-flight between April and December 2006 (10).
- Leicester have won 25 points since Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge in March (W7 D4 L4); only Liverpool (43), Manchester City (37) and Chelsea (27) have picked up more points in this period.
Player to Watch
Jamie Vardy
If Leicester City are to stand a chance of coming out on top against Tottenham this weekend, they will need Jamie Vardy to be firing on all guns. The 32-year-old has started the 2019-20 season on a strong note, bagging 3 goals and an assist in five matches. And after a quiet game against Manchester United last time out, he will be keen on returning to goalscoring ways.
Vardy has scored more Premier League goals versus ‘big six’ teams than any other player (31) since the start of the 2014-15 campaign. The former England international has netted in each of his last three appearances against Tottenham, banging in four goals. With Spurs looking vulnerable at the back in recent matches, Vardy could prove to be a handful for them to deal with on Saturday.
Prediction
Leicester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Both teams haven’t looked at their best in the new season and will enter into Saturday’s contest searching for a win, having failed to come out on top in their most recent fixtures. Leicester City’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end last weekend, but are unbeaten at home this term and under Brendan Rodgers, they have the capability to go toe to toe with the big teams.
Tottenham have endured a difficult few months on the road having failed to win any of their last eight away matches. Mauricio Pochettino’s side squandered a two-goal advantage in their last two matches away from home and will want to plug in the gaps, but the win against Crystal Palace showed how they can blow away teams if they get going.
Both Leicester and Tottenham will take the game to each other, making it for an enticing match-up at the King Power Stadium. There will be goals on offer on Saturday and we at The Hard Tackle are predicting the game to end in another 2-2 away draw for Spurs.
