Leicester v Tottenham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Leicester face Tottenham in the English Premier League at the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Foxes sit fifth in the table after losing to rivals Chelsea on Tuesday and they really need to win their match and hope one of Chelsea or Liverpool drop points on the final day. Spurs could finish as high as 6^th or as low as 9^th and also have plenty to play for in what could potentially be Harry Kane’s final match before seeking a summer transfer.

Leicester Form

After a fourth defeat in eight Premier League matches, Leicester have dropped out of the top four. They lost 2-0 at home to Man City before a 3-2 loss at West Ham where they were trailing 3-0 after 48 minutes. Two wins against West Brom and Crystal Palace followed.

Leicester then faced ten men Southampton for 80 minutes but could only draw 1-1 before finding themselves 4-0 down at home to Newcastle and losing 4-2 by full time. They then won 2-1 at Old Trafford against Man Utd but faced their second string team.

An historic 1-0 FA Cup success at Wembley against Chelsea followed before losing 2-1 to the same opposition in the league and falling out of the Champions League places with one match to play.

Leicester Team News

Leicester are without Jonny Evans and James Justin in defence. Timothy Castagne will play as one of the back three and Ricardo Pereira is hoping for a start at right wingback after a big impact in the last match.

Harvey Barnes and Cengiz Under are missing on the wings but Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal as a substitute against Chelsea should see him recalled in the front two of Brendan Rodgers’ 3-4-1-2 formation.

Leicester Motivation

Leicester have to win this match and even that is not likely to be enough. A draw only sees them finish in the top four if Liverpool lose at home to Crystal Palace. A win will be enough if either Chelsea or Liverpool fail to win their matches.

A pragmatic approach is likely against Spurs’ attacking firepower and if the scores are level and results elsewhere are not going their way, expect Rodgers to throw on extra attackers.

Tottenham Form

Spurs are not in great form. After the 3-0 loss that saw them knocked out of the Europa League and then a three match winless league run under Jose Mourinho, he was sacked with 29-year-old Ryan Mason appointed as caretaker boss.

He has overseen six matches with three wins and three defeats. The victories all came at home as Southampton (2-1), Sheffield United (4-0) and Wolves (2-0) were beaten. His defeats were a lifeless 1-0 loss in the Carabao Cup final to Man City, a poor 3-1 loss at Leeds and then Wednesday’s 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa in what was a very bad performance.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs have two injuries for this match as Ben Davies is absent at left back and Japhet Tanganga is doubtful with a shin injury after being substituted against Aston Villa. Should the latter miss out, then Matt Doherty could be handed a start.

Gareth Bale will return to the lineup after being rested partially against Villa with just 18 minutes played. Giovani Lo Celso looks likely to start too after Harry Winks struggled in midfield in the last match. Tanguy Ndombele is set for another match on the bench under Ryan Mason.

Tottenham Motivation

Anything less than a Spurs win means they can’t finish higher than 7^th (they would need West Ham to lose at home to Southampton for 6^th to be an option). A draw means that one, or both or Everton and Arsenal could overtake them.

Everton face Man City away so they probably won’t win but Arsenal could beat Brighton at home. The biggest motivation may be to match Arsenal’s result to finish above their rivals.

Key Stats

The Foxes have lost 3 of their last 7 PL matches

Leicester have conceded 12 goals in their last 7 PL matches

Leicester have lost 4 of their last 8 PL matches

Leicester sit 7^th in the table over the last 18 PL matches

Spurs have lost 3 of their last 5 matches

Tottenham have lost 5 of their last 9 away PL matches

Spurs have conceded 2+ goals in 6 of their last 8 away PL matches

Harry Kane has scored 14 goals in his last 11 PL matches against Leicester

Prediction

This match should have goals. Leicester are leaking badly at the back of late and Spurs are conceding plenty in away matches. The hosts need to attack and win and Spurs need a victory to ensure finishing about Arsenal. I am tipping a home win with plenty of goals. With Kane’s scoring record against Leicester, this possibly being his last match for Spurs and him chasing the golden boot, he is a good bet to score two or more goals.