Leicester City vs Tottenham Preview

However, Lamela starts alongside Kane at the King Power Stadium due to Eriksen’s absence in a team that is otherwise unchanged.

With the signing of Clinton N’Jie and the securing of his work permit in time for the weekend trip to Leicester, it remains to be seen if Pochetino will give the Cameroon global his debut.

I fancy Leicester City to continue their fine form especially since they are playing at home. “But after Maradona, everyone wanted to go to Napoli”, said Ranieri.

Make no mistake – there’s not an abundance of quality, and I think the long-term forecast is a lot more unsettled for Claudio Ranieri’s men, but they have all-important momentum behind them and are a match for middle and lower-half opposition.

‘I’m very surprised that they’ve not won yet because Tottenham is a good team. You know the sport – you can win, you can lose or you can draw, but after the match, I want to say everything we did was good.

It will be a strong attacking Spurs side against Ranieri’s organised Leicester. Interesting game ahead before the worldwide break.

Played for both – Les Ferdinand: Spurs supporter Ferdinand played for the club for six years between 1997 and 2003, helping them win the League Cup in 1999, although injuries limited him to 118 league appearances and 33 goals.

“It is important also for English football because when the Champions League comes around, the English teams are working so hard and the other teams are fresh because they have had a winter break”. It doesn’t matter whether I play like Esteban or not. Pochettino, though, is determined to keep a sense of perspective as his side look to tighten up at the back.

“I spoke a long time ago to Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and the FA about giving the players a little rest after the Christmas games”, he said.

Leicester have gained an intense competitor in Inler, the Switzerland captain whose arrival for £5m seems a remarkable piece of business even by the standards of a transfer window in which several of the Premier League’s less-fancied clubs have attracted players of global standing. Last season was a tough one for him at Napoli, Walter Gargano and David López providing a level of competition in midfield that sometimes edged out a player who had been irresistible the previous year.