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Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur prepare to host Champions League-chasers Leicester City in a crucial Premier League encounter in North London.
Amidst a difficult run of games, everything seemed to be crumbling for Spurs after an unfortunate 3-1 loss away at Sheffield United. However, that has been their only loss since the restart so far as the hosts have begun to pick up some momentum.
Back-to-back wins against Arsenal and Newcastle United have seen them rise to seventh on the league table, just a point behind Wolves. Spurs have 55 points from their 36 games so far and would be vying for Europa League qualification as a bare minimum this season.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, are currently in a battle for Champions League football with two of Jose Mourinho's former clubs, Chelsea and Manchester United. The Foxes travel to London knowing that a loss against Spurs could essentially end their UCL chase as it would allow the Red Devils to go ahead of them.
Leicester are tied with United at 62 points from 36 games, with Chelsea just a point above both. A victory here combined with draws or losses for the Blues and United could see them take a massive leap in their quest for UCL football.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester Head-to-Head
Spurs have had the odd difficulty facing their upcoming opponents in the recent past. They've won five out of the last ten league fixtures against the Foxes, dating back to 2015. The North London giants have also lost three games, drawing the remaining two in that period.
Their most recent encounter at the King Power Stadium in September last year saw them lose to the Foxes by a scoreline of 2-1. Harry Kane opened the scoring for the visitors, but Leicester full-back Ricardo Pereira equalised after a lightning-fast counter. Starman James Maddison took centre-stage and smashed in a winner in the 85th minute, giving Leicester the three points.
Although both teams have struggled for form in recent times, Spurs are arguably the team with more momentum heading into the fixture. Leicester's 4-1 meltdown against Bournemouth exposed their fragilities, and they could be capitalised on by the hosts.
Tottenham Hotspur Form Guide: W-L-W-D-W-W
Leicester City Form Guide: D-L-W-D-L-W
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City Team News
Both sides enter this clash with a lengthy list of notable absentees. Spurs will have to make do without their first-choice right-back Serge Aurier for the remainder of the season due to personal reasons. The Ivorian's brother tragically lost his life after being shot in France, due to which Aurier will be unavailable for selection.
Juan Foyth, Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli are all out injured and are unlikely to feature in the remaining two games. The Argentine and the Frenchman are reportedly on their way out of Spurs as well.
Eric Dier rounds off the absentee list for the hosts after he was suspended for four games by the FA. Dier jumped into the stands to confront a fan who was allegedly in a physical altercation with the defender's brother, Patrick.
Brendan Rodgers will be forced to play without both their starting full-backs Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira against Spurs. Chilwell's backup, Christian Fuchs, is also injured and is expected to be replaced by young Luke Thomas. Added to that are the absences of creator-in-chief James Maddison and Daniel Amartey, both of whom are injured as well.
Caglar Soyuncu was given a direct red card in the Foxes' loss to the Cherries after he appeared to lash out at Callum Wilson after conceding the second goal. He kicked the striker in frustration, which was spotted by the referee and he was sent off as a result of his misconduct.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City Predicted XIs
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Japhet Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Ben Davies; Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks; Lucas Moura, Giovani Lo Celso, Heung-Min Son; Harry Kane
Leicester City Predicted XI (3-4-3): Kasper Schmeichel; Ryan Bennett, Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans; James Justin, Youri Tielemans, Wilfried Ndidi, Luke Thomas; Ayoze Perez, Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City Prediction
With just one game remaining for both sides after this Premier League clash, it is set to be a high-stakes affair with everything on offer. Both clubs could take a significant leap towards their goals for the campaign with three points in what will be a tightly-contested match. However, Spurs have the slightest of edges going into the game due to several of Leicester's first-team players being sidelined. The North London club are unbeaten in four games and appear to have a higher possibility of getting a result in their favour.
Scoreline prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Leicester City
