Premier League: Foxes Hunting For Top Six Form

Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Compared to previous seasons Leicester City are scratching around for some form and a level of consistency which has made them a top four fixture in recent campaigns.

In 2019/20 and 2020/21 head coach Brendan Rodgers led the Foxes to impressive performances which meant they occupied the Champions League places for 90 percent of each campaign, only to cruelly miss out on the last day. But fans who hoped Leicester would go a step further and finish in fourth have lowered their expectations as a series of injuries, match cancellations and general inconsistency has left them in tenth place after 18 games.

Rodgers’ men have a chance to make some progress when they face Antonio Conte’s Spurs, who currently occupy the last available Europa League spot, some eight points ahead, though both teams have games in hand on their rivals. Premier League: Leicester vs Tottenham is the re-arranged fixture following its cancellation in December when the Foxes were engulfed by the Omicron wave.

Spurs are four points behind West Ham, who occupy fourth place but, like the Foxes, they have four games in hand on the Hammers. A win for either team could spark a charge up the table. Conte wants Champions League football while Rodgers has work to do to provide another Europa League place.

Talking Points

Foxes can still make a march

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Leicester can come into the game with confidence, on the back of a convincing 4-1 FA Cup win over Watford, which followed a 1-0 victory over title-chasing Liverpool. They showed all the resilience and quality at both ends of the pitch to beat the Reds, Ademola Lookman scoring the only goal of the game while Kasper Schmeichel saved a Mo Salah penalty.

Despite playing fewer games than most the Foxes are still in the top half of the table and they have the pedigree to climb. Though with absentees in Africa and injury problems still troubling the club, Leicester need to grind out results, as they did against Liverpool, and stay in touch with the leaders. If they can do so until mid-February then a chase could be on.

For this game they will be without two key players who are away at the African Cup of Nations. Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi starred in Nigeria’s 3-1 win over Sudan, which took the Super Eagles through to the Round of 16. And with start striker Jamie Vardy doubtful, a lot depends on the creative muscle of James Maddison and Youri Tielemens, while Patson Daka could lead the line in Vardy’s absence.

No Son for Spurs

Tottenham too will be without some key players, in particular top scorer Heung-Min Son, who limped off during the first leg of Spurs’ Carabao Cup defeat to Chelsea, two weeks ago, and is likely to be out for a month. And Conte is sweating over the fitness of defender Eric Dier who picked up a muscular strain in training and is doubtful for the Leicester game.

Next Saturday Spurs face Chelsea in one of our SBOTOP picks of the week. The Whites have encountered Thomas Tuchel’s European Champions twice in recent weeks, losing both Carabao ties. After defending like a Sunday League side in the first leg three VAR decisions went (correctly) against Tottenham as they fell to an Anton Rudiger header in the second. Spurs will want to be at their best when they meet their London rivals again, and will hope to have their defence shored up by then.

Premier League: Son Heung-Min suffered muscle injury in Tottenham Hotspur's Carabao Cup match vs Chelsea — Son Heung-Min during Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Watford

Up front, much depends on the out-of-form Harry Kane; he has started to look a little sharper in recent weeks and has four league goals to his name.

Covid chaos continues

Both teams missed out on action this weekend due to the continuing trend of ‘Covid-related postponements’. I use inverted commas here as the pandemic seems to have little to do with certain clubs’ interpretation of the rules. Spurs match with Arsenal was cancelled after the Gunners reported ONE, yes ONE, Covid case.

Meanwhile the Foxes missed out on a weekend date with Burnley. Due to patient confidentiality it’s sometimes hard to know who has the virus, but having sold Chris Wood to Newcastle, and with Maxwell Cornet at AFCON, long-term injuries to Matej Vydra and Ashley Barnes have left 32-year-old Jay Rodriguez as the last man standing up front for the Clarets.

It’s difficult to know when this chaos will end.

History

The head-to-head Leicester vs Tottenham results have a beautiful symmetry which sets up this clash perfectly. In all meetings since 1994 both teams have won 14 and their have been six draws. And over the past two seasons they have won two each. Last term the away team triumphed on both occasions; Leicester won 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, while Spurs exacted their revenge at the King Power Stadium on the last day of the campaign, with a thumping 4-2 victory.

In terms of recent form both teams have won three games in the last six, though the Foxes have lost their other three matches while Spurs have drawn one and lost two.

The Foxes have won their last five home games.

Betting Tip

	Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur	Leicester City Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 2.31
	January 30, 03:30 (GMT+8)

The Leicester vs Tottenham betting odds are backing Antonio Conte’s Whites, but not by much. The visitors are at a price of 2.25 while their hosts are at 2.97 and the draw is a real possibility at 3.16. Leicester’s form at the KingPower will give their fans optimism and, under the floodlights, a red hot atmosphere could inspire the Foxes to more home success.