I think this is going to be a very exciting game. Sure, it’s not glittered by title prospects or signified by surviving the drop, but it’s two in-form teams looking to end their seasons on a high.
Spurs will be well up for this. I personally fancy a bit of revenge for their success at our expense both domestically last year and in Europe this season, and I reckon the team also want to right a few wrongs. There’s nothing at stake, so there’s no reason not to have a go. The last time we tasted victory against Leicester was on our previous visit to the King Power Stadium in last season’s FA Cup in a relatively comfortable 2-0 win.
In the league however, you have to look all the way back to March 2015 for our latest win over the Midland club. A thrilling 4-3 match in which Harry Kane bagged his first ever Premier League hat-trick for the club. Leicester were just one of two clubs able to boast to have come away from White Hart Lane this season avoiding a defeat, following a frustrating 1-1 draw. Until then, Leicester hadn’t picked up any points on the road.
So yes, there’s perhaps a certain hoodoo to lay to rest here. Leicester will be up for it too though. The former champions seemed to be in dire straights this season with Claudio Ranieri unable to inspire similar performances that had seen them lift the title the season before. By mid-February, the Foxes were dangling dangerously over the relegation zone after having lost 2-0 to fellow strugglers Swansea. In a move that saw Leicester become temporarily one of the most unpopular teams in the country, their manager was sacked and Craig Shakespeare took over. The squad were labelled snakes and pundits and fans all over the country tipped Leicester for relegation.
You cannot however, argue with the results. They then won five games in a row and advanced to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League, giving their fans another compelling fairy-tale story to watch unfold. Currently they sit in the safety of 11th, looking up, not down. 8th is well within their reach and they have two home games left to secure it with.
I expect this game to be contested between two teams full of confidence, looking to win all three points. I expect it to be end-to-end, a bit like a basketball game. I reckon there’ll be goals too. In normal circumstances, I’d have said 2-2, but Leicester have unfortunately been hit with a few injuries to some crucial squad members. They won’t have Wes Morgan or Robert Huth available, a solid partnership at the back. They’ll be without Danny Drinkwater, Andy King and Nampalys Mendy in midfield too. The spine of the team has arguably been ripped out. Speculation also continues over the future of Riyad Mahrez, so you wonder if his head will really be in the game.
Spurs, by contrast, are only missing Harry Winks, Danny Rose and Erik Lamela alongside a handful of youth players who you wouldn’t have expected to play anyway. I reckon Spurs will edge this either 2-1 or 3-2. It’ll be a great game for the neutrals, and even for Lilywhites and Foxes I imagine, regardless of the result. Kane will score again. He’s chasing that Golden Boot and we don’t like seeing Alexis Sanchez above him in the goal-scoring charts. So I’m calling a brace from Kane and a goal from Christian Eriksen.
3-2 Spurs, I call it. But what are your thoughts? Are you confident? Or do I have this totally wrong?
COYS.
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