Our live stream ahead of Sundays Premier League match, Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City is now up and running, kicking off at 14.15 GMT
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
Tottenham come into the game after a cruel defeat against now league leaders Liverpool on Wednesday. Roberto Firmino headed a 90th-minute winner as the champions edged out Tottenham to climb top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Anfield.
Spurs had opportunities to strengthen their growing title credentials and end Liverpool’s formidable home league record – which now reads 66 games unbeaten – their last defeat coming against Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace back in April 2017.
Tottenham’s current tally of 25 points from 13 games in the Premier League is eight more than they had at the same stage of last season, and they have every reason to be confident of a swift return to winning ways this weekend.
The defeat at Anfield was their first in the league since the opening day of the season, and in that time they have recorded big wins over Southampton, Manchester United and Manchester City – all of whom sit in the top half.
Leicester missed the opportunity to go top midweek, at least until the conclusion of the Liverpool v Tottenham game, as they lost 2-0 at home to an in-form Everton team. The defeat was their fourth home loss of the campaign – already as many as they suffered in the whole of 2019-20.
Leicester are fast improving away from home; they picked up just six points from their first nine away games of 2020, winning only once, but so far this term they have won five of their six such outings.
Indeed, only Manchester United have amassed more points on their travels in 2020-21, which is in stark contrast to an underwhelming record at the King Power Stadium.
Tottenham and Leicester last met in July, with Tottenham 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium…
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Jose Mourinho
On Bale
“He’s fine. Trained yesterday with the team and today. He looks ok. If he’s ok again tomorrow then he’ll be fine.”
On injuries
“Tanganga is out. Lamela trained I cannot say 100% with the team but some exercises with us. Coming to the end of his injury but still not ready. Not close.”
On the Bergwijn abuse
“I don’t know what I can do apart from the player knowing that in this club we are all together. We lose, we win and we draw all together. He has us and we have him.”
More on Bergwijn
“He’s one of my boys. Period. There’s no point for me to individualise. He’s a good professional and he gives everything he can for the team.”
Asked about Gedson’s loan and whether he will leave next month
“If he remains at the club from January, I cannot answer you. I truly believe that we have to respect the player and Benfica.”
“The player because he deserves all our respect and Benfica because as a friendly club deserves our respect.”
“So what they decide is fundamental and what they decide will prevail. The situation is sad because he was out of the Europa League list and by being out of that list reduced immediately a chance of nine matches that we already played in the Europa League, where we had five substitutions where we rotated the players a lot and we can bring to the bench 12 players.”
“To be out of these nine matches I believe that breaks confidence levels and even dynamics and routines and was very bad for him.”
“Apart from that, then you go to the Premier League where he can play, but by having in the Premier League only until now six guys on the bench and the keeper I think it’s normal you go for players with more routine and match fitness.”
“So these six months become really, really bad for us and for him and on top of it he’s a kid, it’s incredible what I’m going to say, but since he arrived he didn’t miss one single minute of one training session so he becomes even in low levels of happiness or motivation he’s managing to be a very good professional.”
“So hopefully better days will come for him and they will come for sure, with us or without us, but better days will come for sure.”
On those Vertonghen comments this week on his concussion symptoms
“Well, you have a concussion or you don’t have a concussion. If you have a concussion you have concussion symptoms and you cannot play football. You cannot train.”
“We have a medical department that does the job very, very carefully. Of course what happened to Jan I was not here. When I arrived it was, let’s say, a long time after that situation.”
“So I don’t have much more to say about it.”
Brendan Rodgers
Castagne fit to start?
“That’s what we’ll see. He was close against Everton. And we’ll look at him over the next 24 hours.
“He’s got great energy and can run in behind. He gives us a good profile in terms of defending set-pieces. He’ll be a huge plus.”
Glad to have Jonny back?
“Jonny is influential in how we work. Wilf was very good but you’re taking a top player out of the midfield, so it’s good to have Jonny back.”
Protective over Ndidi?
“We’ve been building Wilf up towards that 90 minutes. He’s pivotal for us. We’ve tried to manage the whole squad, but him in particular, we want to protect him.”
Vote on five subs?
“From a football perspective, I said at the beginning of the season that we voted for three but if five was possible, I would be in favour. I’ve spoken to Susan Whelan who is fantastic at her job.”
“She sees the bigger picture. I’m of the understanding of the club’s view. It’s something that’s been ongoing since the summer. We can get on and prepare now. We have more players on the bench, which is good news.”
Nine players on bench?
“We have a very youthful squad anyway. It allows all the players who travel to be involved. It gives that possibility in the game if a certain player gets injured.”
Concussion subs?
“I mentioned that a few weeks back. It’s logical. If you get a head injury in the game with the possibility of bringing someone while that player is being looked at, that makes sense.”
Any enquiries over Slimani and Gray?
“None that I’m aware of. I speak with Jon Rudkin daily and we’ve had nothing yet on any of those matters.”
Thoughts on Spurs’ display v Liverpool?
“I haven’t seen it yet, we’ll analyse it after this press conference. They’re very organised, but then they have talents in Kane and Son who can give you great problems. I can’t comment on the game but I’ve seen enough of Tottenham to say they look like a Jose team.”
Date for move to new training ground?
“Not as of yet. We’re hopeful that will be soon. There’s some operational things that need to be sorted.”
Working with Mourinho?
“He was brilliant. It was a great step for me at the time. It was an opportunity for me to go to a club where the manager was a European champion.”
“He was charismatic and very open in his communication with me, sharing his ideas. I was in pole position for learning, seeing someone who could work closely with players while still having respect.”
Big decision to drop Kane back?
“I don’t think it is. Roberto Firmino does a similar role for Liverpool. Messi does for Barcelona. What you’re seeing is not something being taken away but something added.”
“What you’re seeing is a player who is dropping underneath and playing passes like a midfield player. I don’t think anything’s been taken away. He’s a very intelligent player. It’s an addition to how they play.”
Spurs’ counter?
“In certain games we’ve played that well. We had a sample of it towards the end of last season, where we were done on the counter. The first goal is going to be really important. They’re a point ahead of us.”
What will Castagne bring?
“Defending he really gets in contention with people. From a set-piece perspective, he’s a good size so he can defend the box well. When you’re missing his height, and Wilf and Cags, those are players that really help. On the attacking side, he’s so good at penetrating without the ball. He wants to get up there and score goals. It definitely improves our squad.”
Reasons for inconsistencies?
“We’ve seen over the course of all the teams that inconsistencies are there. Most teams’ home records are not as good as before. The lack of a crowd and lack of intensity.”
“I can sense that for us. And then there are injuries. It’s having that ability when you do lose to bounce back. We’ve lost and then we go on a run of wins.”
How to deal with counter?
“It’s the balance of being protected when we’re building the game. When we conceded early in that first half, we weren’t really in danger, but such is that quality, they can score on the counter. We have to get the balance on attack to make sure we can protect it.”
FORM:
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form: WWDWDL
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): DDWWDL
Leicester City Premier League form: WLLWWL
Leicester City form (all competitions): LLWWWL
LINEUPS:
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Lucas, Ndombele, Son; Kane
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Fuchs; Castagne, Ndidi, Tielemans, Justin; Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
THATSAGOAL TIP:
Heung-Min Son Anytime Goalscorer – 6/4 with FanTeam
Tottenham’s Premier League top goalscorer continued his clinical form in front of goal with a well-taken effort against Liverpool in the week. Despite outscoring Kane so far, Son is still priced at longer odds.
Leicester have now lost three of their last five league games and have kept just one clean sheet in that period. If the Foxes leave themselves open at the back, Son is the most likely beneficiary with his pace and dead-eyed finishing.
Time to take a look at our Tottenham vs Leicester live match stream as it happens…
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