Tottenham Hotspur will host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday, looking to continue their impressive start to the league campaign.
Tottenham have managed to pick up four wins and two draws from their six Premier League appearances this season, and they are currently third in the league table. Spurs will be looking to close the gap with league leaders and bitter rivals Arsenal here. The Gunners are currently at the top of the table, one point clear of Spurs.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte’s men were beaten 2-0 by Sporting CP earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League, and the Tottenham manager will demand a strong reaction from his players at the weekend.
Spurs have done well against Leicester City in the recent meetings between the two clubs, and they will hope to extend their winning run against the Foxes. Leicester have lost their last three meetings against Tottenham, and the Foxes will have to improve considerably in order to grind out a positive result away from home.
Brendan Rodgers’s men have made a disappointing start to the Premier League campaign, losing five league matches so far. With just one point in the bag, Leicester are under a lot of pressure right now, and a positive result against Tottenham would give them a much-needed morale boost.
Team News and Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
? “We have to be a bit angry, and to try and have a good reaction”
Antonio previews Saturday's game against Leicester ⤵️
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 15, 2022
Antonio Conte should be able to field his strongest starting lineup against Leicester City on Saturday. Lucas Moura is the only injury worry for the north Londoners this weekend.
As far as the starting eleven is concerned, club captain Hugo Lloris is expected to continue between the sticks against Leicester. Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet are likely to be deployed in a back three.
Emerson Royal had a disappointing outing last time out, and it will not be be surprising if Conte decides to give Matt Doherty a start as the right wing-back against Leicester. Ryan Sessegnon is expected to feature as the left wing-back.
At the heart of Tottenham’s midfield, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is set to partner Rodrigo Bentancur. As for the attacking unit, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski are likely to play out wide, with Harry Kane set to lead the line for Tottenham against Leicester.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers will be without the services of Ricardo Pereira and Ryan Bertrand due to the duo’s respective injuries. Apart from that, Leicester City should have the rest of their first team players fit and ready for this game.
The Foxes are likely to continue with their recently favoured 4-3-3 setup against Tottenham, with Danny Ward set to continue in coal. Timothy Castagne, Daniel Amartey, Jonny Evans and James Justin should form the back four for the visitors.
In the midfield, Wilfred Ndidi is likely to be partnered by Youri Tielemans and youngster Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes will be a part of the front three, with Jamie Vardy leading the line for Leicester against Tottenham.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ward; Castagne, Amartey, Evans, Justin; Dewsbury-Hall, Ndidi, Tielemans; Maddison, Vardy, Barnes
Key Stats
- Tottenham have won seven of their last nine Premier League games against Leicester (L2), including each of the last three. They have never won four consecutive league games against the Foxes before.
- Since Leicester’s return to the Premier League in 2014, only Arsenal vs Liverpool (64) has seen more goals in the Premier League than Leicester against Tottenham (63).
- Tottenham have won each of their last six Premier League home games, their longest such run at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They last had a longer home winning run between November 2016 and May 2017 at White Hart Lane (14 games).
- Leicester have lost each of their last five Premier League games, last losing more consecutively in December 2014 (6). It is also manager Brendan Rodgers’ longest run of defeats in his league career across the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership.
- Harry Kane has scored more goals against Leicester in all competitions than he has against any other side in his senior career (19). 17 of those goals have come in the Premier League, with only Alan Shearer netting more against a specific opponent (20 vs Leeds).
Player to Watch
Dejan Kulusevski
Swedish international winger Dejan Kulusevski is our player to watch this weekend. The talented young winger has not started the last three matches for Spurs and he will be desperate to prove his worth to Antonio Conte with a big performance.
The likes of Richarlison started during the midweek and therefore it is fair to assume that Conte will rotate his squad to keep the players fresh. There is a high chance that Kulusevski will start this game and he will be fired up.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Leicester City
Tottenham are undoubtedly the better side here, and Antonio Conte’s squad is packed with quality all over the pitch. They are currently unbeaten in the Premier League and full of confidence and momentum. Furthermore, the midweek defeat in the UEFA Champions League will have given them further motivation to perform at a higher level.
On the other hand, Leicester are winless in the Premier League so far, and they are lacking in confidence and belief. The Foxes are likely to fall short once again, with The Hard Tackle predicting a 3-1 win for Tottenham here.