Tottenham v Leicester – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Tottenham host Leicester at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. Spurs’ last-minute defeat to Liverpool brought to an end an 11-match unbeaten run whilst Leicester continue some inconsistent form. Mourinho faces off against his previous protégé in Brendan Rodgers with the latter’s side just one point behind Tottenham.

Tottenham Form

Spurs lost against Liverpool in their last match after an injury-time winner at Anfield. That brought to an end an 11-match unbeaten Premier League run for Mourinho’s side which saw seven wins and four draws.

Tottenham have now won only one of their last four league matches. Their 2-0 victory against Manchester City has been followed by a 0-0 draw at Chelsea, a 2-0 win at home against Arsenal and then a 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace prior to the Liverpool defeat.

Tottenham Team News

Tottenham look set to be without two wide players in Gareth Bale and Eric Lamela for this match although both are nearing returns. It is possible that one or both could be amongst the substitutes.

Mourinho may decide to recall Tanguy Ndombele and Sergio Reguilón after both were dropped for the loss at Liverpool in favour of Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies.

Tottenham Motivation

Spurs beat Leicester 3-0 at home in July with 29% possession and just three shots on target. They will do exactly the same in this game – let Leicester have the ball and try to counter through the speed of Son and the passing ability of Harry Kane.

Spurs will play to win this match and would consider a draw to be a poor result so they won’t settle for a point but they probably won’t open up to chase a winner either.

Leicester Form

Rodgers’ side have had an inconsistent season. They have lost five of their 13 matches already but due to no low-value draws, instead winning all of their other eight matches, they sit in 5th position.

Having said that, they won six of their first eight matches and sat top of the table but things have been less impressive lately. Over their last five matches, they have lost three and sit 13th in the table during that period.

Leicester lost 3-0 at Liverpool and 2-1 at home to Fulham before a 2-1 win at Sheffield United and a 3-0 home win against Brighton. In their last match, they lost 2-0 at home to Everton.

Leicester Team News

Rodgers continues to suffer defensive injuries and headaches. All of Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Timothy Castagne are missing in the backline due to injury. Thankfully, Jonny Evans returns from suspension for this clash.

That should mean that Wilfred Ndidi can move from centre back into midfield once again. Daniel Amartey is also absent with injury, giving less options at right back and in midfield. Rodgers could use a back three or a back four in this match.

Leicester Motivation

The Foxes were naive in losing to Spurs last season and have been much more pragmatic since that match. They are more likely to sit deep in this encounter and not give Spurs the space they want to counter attack.

Leicester have conceded eight of their 17 goals from set plays this season and will want to be careful not to concede too many corners and freekicks. A draw on the road would be a good result but a smash and grab with Jamie Vardy scoring on the break will be their plan.

Key Stats

Tottenham have lost 1 of their last 12 PL matches

Spurs have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 6 PL matches

Tottenham have won 1 of their last 4 PL matches

Leicester have lost 5 of their 13 PL matches, failing to score in 4 of those defeats

Leicester have won 5 of their last 6 away PL matches

Harry Kane has scored 14 goals in 10 PL matches against The Foxes

Prediction

Leicester are much more streetwise this season and their speed on the break is why they are getting such good results on their travels. However, with their defensive injuries, Spurs are expected to have too much for them.

My tip is Spurs to score first through Harry Kane then sit back and frustrate Leicester with around 30% possession.

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