Leicester City vs Tottenham Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battle, Prediction & More

Tottenham followed up the North London Derby defeat to Arsenal with an impressive comeback victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, but Mauricio Pochettino's side faced familiar Wembley frustrations at the weekend, as West Brom took their share of the points from the capital in a tactical 1-1 draw.

Harry Kane netted his 40th club goal of 2017 against the managerless Baggies, keeping himself firmly in the running for the 2017-18 golden boot - on nine, currently one behind Mohamed Salah.

Pochettino will need his super-star talisman to be on top of his game over the busy festive period, if Spurs are to stand any chance of catching table-toppers Manchester City in a bid for the title.

Claude Puel's new side are struggling to gather any momentum in the league this season and are without a win in November. The Frenchman will look to rectify the situation and stamp the Foxes authority on the league once more, with a win against the recently-stuttering Spurs on Tuesday.

Classic Encounter

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Leicester fans wont want reminding of this one...

In May of the last campaign, Tottenham secured second place in the Premier League with a 6-1 rout at the King Power Stadium.

Kane scored four times in the match, putting him in poll position for the golden boot with 26 goals and Son chipped in, netting a brace.

The game was completely one sided and Tottenham were in frightening form as they pursued Conte's high-flying Chelsea late on in the season. Leicester at least managed to score a consolation goal, thanks to some dubious goal-keeping from captain Hugo Lloris, but it was far from competitive on the day.

Key Battle

Harry Maguire vs Harry Kane

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The key battle in this fixture will likely play out between international teammates Kane and Maguire.

If Leicester are to come away on Tuesday night with three points and avoid defeat once again, they will need to make sure they're defensively solid first and foremost and should focus on hindering the output of Mauricio Pochettino's star talisman.

That's easier said than done though, with the England skipper buoyed by winning the last two golden boot awards so early in his career. Maguire will need to give himself space to read Kane's movements and not get drawn into putting pressure on the striker's back, as Kane often uses pressure to turn and find the space to shoot from around the box.

The stalwart will also need to be on top of his game in possession, as Leicester will need to build from the back and beat Spurs' press. It's safe to say Vardy won't be able to hold up play often with direct football, while surrounded by Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen.

Team News

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Danny Rose was dropped against West Brom on Saturday and the manager now has to make a decision regarding the left-back position over the busy festive period. Ben Davis seems to be favourite for the starting place at the moment, after the England international went public over recent frustrations.

Victor Wanyama is still absent through a knee injury, while Toby Alderweireld continues his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained against Real Madrid. Long-term absentee Erik Lemela is back in contention to play, following the birth of his child.

Robert Huth and Matty James are to be the only absentees on the day for the Foxes, who drew 1-1 against David Moyes' new outfit West Ham on Friday.

Predicted Line-ups: 

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs, Albrighton, Ndidi, Iborra, Gray, Mahrez, Vardy

Tottenham: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen, Trippier, Winks, Dembele, Davies, Eriksen, Alli, Kane

Prediction

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In terms of head to heads between the sides, Spurs currently have 53 wins to Leicester's 34 while the team have drawn 21 times.

Based on last term's six-goal rout and the ironic fact that Spurs actually perform better on the road, it's safe to say Pochettino is the favourite to come away on Tuesday with three points.

Tottenham haven't been in the finest goal-scoring from of late though and its seriously doubtful that we're about to witness another goal-fest at the King Power Stadium. However, Spurs are in serious need of 3 points, after north London rivals Arsenal jumped ahead of them into fourth on Sunday.

Leicester 1-2 Tottenham