Vs
Leicester City
White Hart Lane, London
20:00 GMT, 13th January 2016
With the second of three meetings about to take place. The foxes once again return White Hart Lane to take on Tottenham, but this time for their 21st Premier League game.
Having played an excellent midweek game against Spurs, Leicester walked away with only one point after conceding a late penalty allowing Kane to even the scores. Unlike the FA cup however, this fixture will feature the clubs’ strongest players as both teams look to get closer to the league leaders Arsenal.
With just four points separating the two, this game will be crucial as a victory could separate the Championai??i??s league contender from the potential Europa league contender. Both Pochettino as well as Ranieri will include key players who they had rested for the FA cup tie, and so fans can expect to see a greater quality of football in this game.
Team Tactics and Line-upai??i??s
Tottenham Hotspur FC
Although Vorm put up a reasonable performance against Leicester in the FA Cup game, some Spurs fans will swear that theyai??i??d have won the game if Hugo Lloris were at goal. However with the Premier League back in the calendar, Pochettino will surely not experiment with one of the most important roles in the team.
This would mean the team captain Lloris is expected to take his position at the back. Having rested for the FA Cup we can expect to see the Belgian duo Vertonghen and Alderweireld back together as the chosen central defensive pairing.
Although Alderweireld had a poor game compared to his defensive partner Wimmer, he will retain his spot alongside his countryman as he has been instrumental in keeping Tottenhamai??i??s excellent defensive record in the Premier League. Kyle Walker will come in for Trippier, the regular right back will replace his teammate who struggled against the pace of Demarai Gray in the cup tie. On the left hand side, Rose will give way to the rested and well prepared Ben Davies.
Dier will continue to hold his defensive midfield position, however Spurs fans will rejoice at the fact that Dembele is fit and will once again be included in the starting eleven alongside the young English defender. While the trio of Lamela, Alli and Eriksen will complete the five man midfield.
Lamela and Alli were both rested in the previous fixture and will form the back bone of Tottenhamai??i??s attacking forefront. Along with Eriksenai??i??s threat from set pieces and his excellent from in the previous game. The trioai??i??s performance will be imperative to whether on not Tottenham get all three points. Harry Kane will start as the lone striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation set up by Pochettino.
Predicted Line-up: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele, Lamela, Alli, Eriksen; Kane.
Leicester City
Claudio Ranieri will look to make some changes to his squad as well as, he comes to this fixture with the good news of Jamie Vardy almost fit to play. However he will continue to work with the absence of Schlupp for this fixture. Schmeichel will continue to play as the chosen goalkeeper.
He will have ahead of him the four-man defence in form of Morgan and Huth, who are their best central defensive pairing. While Simpson will operate on the right in place of De Laet and Fuchs will operate on the left. All four players were rested against Spurs for the FA Cup draw and will be glad to return to the squad in order to ensure their clean sheets of the last two games continue.
Albrighton and Mahrez will play on the left and right respectively. With the two exciting wingers who did not feature in the sideai??i??s previous meeting, the Spurs defense will have a tough task in hand marking the two playing on the opposite side of their preferred foot.
With many runs expected infield, Walker and Davies will have to stay on their toes to keep a tab on the two. Drinkwater and Kante will be the two preferred central midfield players. Drnkwater with the role of play making and Kante to provide cover for the back four, similar to Dier.
It must be noted that Kanteai??i??s inclusion is crucial as the Frenchman has made 79 tackles and 81 interceptions, the highest in the League this season. Okazaki and Ulloa will continue to play as the two strikers as Jamie Vardy can be expected only to come off the bench.
Predicted Line-up: Schmeichel; Fuchs, Huth, Morgan, Simpson; Albrighton, Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez; Okazaki, Ulloa.
Match Facts
- Tottenham have lost only two games in the Premier League this season
- Leicester have failed to score in their last three Premier League games
- Tottenham have not lost to Leicester City at home in the past 4 Premier League games
- Leicester have the poorest pass completion rate in the premier league (69.8%)
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
Harry Kane was briefly rested in the previous game, where he was introduced in the dying minutes in search of an equaliser. This shows how reliant the Tottenham side are on Kane for goals.
Nevertheless back into the squad, the tireless striker will look to get his name in the score sheet as many times as possible in order to allow Spurs to gain all three points. With his extremely high work rate, Kane averages a stunning 2.65 shots per game. With just 4 goals shy of his competitors Vardy and Lukaku, the Englishman will look catch up to his competitors.
Predictions
Tottenham Hotspur 2 ai??i?? 1 Leicester City
With both sides fielding their best players available, the level of the game will be higher than that fans witnessed in the weekend. However, with Kane and Alli in the squad as well as a change to the back four, Tottenham will be a force to reckon with, Although the inclusion of Vardy will bring Leicester a goal inclusion of the Belgian duo at center back and captain Lloris in the squad will make it tougher for Leicester to outscore Tottenham.
Blast from the Past
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