Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City have yet another huge game on Sunday as their season comes to a close with the visit of Tottenham Hotspur.
Premier League: Leicester vs Spurs is one of three huge games as the race for Champions League places comes to a thrilling climax. Chelsea and Liverpool are the other two teams chasing a top four place and nerves will be shredded from north to south by 6pm UK time.
Talking Points
Could it happen to Leicester again?
The SBOTOP odds back a Leicester win but will it be enough?
The Foxes’ top four dream looked a near certainty a few short weeks ago but defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday and Liverpool’s march over the last few weeks has taken matters out of Leicester’s hands. Jurgen Klopp’s 2020 champions have suddenly found form, beating Burnley on Wednesday to make it four wins on the bounce and they finish with a home game to Crystal Palace, while Chelsea have a difficult trip way to Aston Villa, who beat Spurs on Wednesday.
Leicester have been in the top four all season, just as they were last term when they dropped out of the Champions League places on the last day.
A 4-2 home defeat to Newcastle, two weeks ago, put a dent in the Foxes’ top four hopes and, though they recovered well to beat Manchester United, it looks like they might fall agonisingly short again. As the long season has worn on the Foxes have missed long term casualty Harvey Barnes, while experienced centre back Jonny Evans missed the defeat to Chelsea and is almost certainly out for the final game too.
Of course the Foxes have already won silverware this season, capturing the FA Cup to end a sequence of four final defeats, thanks to a Youri Tielemans screamer which was enough to beat Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.
Leicester fans wouldn’t swap their first ever FA Cup for a top four place…but they’d rather have both!
Is this Harry Kane’s Spurs farewell?
Every summer, after Spurs have failed again to win any silverware, speculation around the future of talisman Harry Kane resurfaces, but this time it looks like he really is on his way.
Reports have emerged that the England captain is ready to go and he says he needs a ‘good honest conversation’ with Tottenham abut his future. But it’s unlikely to be an easy departure as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is notoriously difficult to deal with.
Kane has three years left on his contract, but Levy may be tempted to sell as the prolific striker is at the height of his powers right now, and will command a huge fee in excess of £100m. He has been one of the best strikers in world football for the past seven seasons and has starred again this term, leading the race for the Golden Boot, on 22 goals alongside Mo Salah, and he has contributed 13 assists.
The England skipper and Tottenham legend is sure to feature in the Leicester vs Spurs highlights package but this could be his last appearance in white as champions Manchester City look set to swoop. The Sky Blues are looking for a replacement for Sergio Aguero and Kane is the perfect fit.
Spurs have floundered in the league. They had a real wake-up when they headed to Elland Road two weeks ago and returned to London with nothing, but they recovered well to beat Wolves 2-0 as Kane opened the scoring. But they were abject again, in defeat at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday, and they currently sit in seventh place. Should caretaker coach Ryan Mason fashion a win against Leicester Spurs could overtake West Ham to climb up to sixth, but they could also finish the season in ninth place should Arsenal and Everton both have a successful end to the competition.
Sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth…none of those are good enough for Kane.
History
The head to heads could hardly be closer. The Foxes have won 14 to Tottenham’s 13 in the Premier League era and they will be going all out to make it 15… to realise their European dream.
Leicester beat Spurs 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December as Jamie Vardy fired home a penalty deep into first half stoppage time, before Tottenham centre back Toby Alderweireld put the ball through his own net.
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