A luckless Leicester side welcome a resurgent Spurs outfit to the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day looking to win their first game in over three months. The fixture starts the festive period with games coming thick and fast, giving teams the opportunity to put together a run of good results, or fall further down the pecking order in the Premier League table.
Leicester have now gone 12 games without a win after their stunning 5-3 victory against Man Utd back in September. Ten of those games have ended in losses with two draws, keeping them at the foot of the table five points from safety. The Foxes started the season brightly but have hit a brick wall with no way around it. Their last match ended in an away defeat to West Ham but back at home, will want to rally the fans with a performance which could spark a turnaround in form and luck.
Spurs have crept up to seventh in the league having won four of their last six games in the league. It has, by no means, been a smooth journey for Mauricio Pochettino since taking over in the summer, with Spurs even booing their own players at home games. They are however, unbeaten in their last three games and recorded back to back victories against Swansea and most recently Burnley and will want to continue the current purple patch.
Team News
Leicester
Chris Wood (illness) and Matt Upson (foot) will undergo late fitness tests to determine their availability for the Boxing Day clash but keeper Kasper Schmeichel could miss the next month due to a foot injury.
Spurs
Ryan Mason is the only doubt for the trip to the King Power stadium and will also undergo a late fitness test having suffered a knock to the ankle in the win over Burnley
Interesting Facts
- Leicester have won only one of their eight Premier League matches on Boxing Day
- Tottenham on the other hand are unbeaten in their last nine Boxing Day matches
- There have been 28 goals scored in the last six meetings between the two sides in all competitions
- Leicester last won a league match 97 days ago
Recent Head to Heads
2005/2006      Sun 08 Jan     Leicester City      3 – 2    Tottenham  FA Cup
2003/2004      Sun 22 Feb    Tottenham        4 – 4    Leicester City
2003/2004      Sun 19 Oct     Leicester City      1 – 2    Tottenham
2001/2002      Sat 11 May    Leicester City      2 – 1    Tottenham
2001/2002      Sat 09 Feb     Tottenham        2 – 1    Leicester City
Key Players
Leicester: Leonardo Ulloa
Leonardo Ulloa was one of the main reasons for Leicester’s impressive start to the season with five goals in his first five games. But since those first five games Leicester have not managed a single win and Ulloa has only scored one goal, showing the impact he has on the team. At the start of the season Ulloa showed that he is a very clinical finisher when he is in form and so far this season he has a conversion rate of 30%, but it is whether he can get back to his best form to help the team improve. Although he has been out of form for a while he still may have had more goals if the service provided to him was better as he has shown that he can be deadly in the air if he has the chance with two of his six goals coming from headers.
Tottenham: Harry Kane
In the last few games Harry Kane has proven to boss Mauricio Pochettino that with a run of starts in the team he can have an impact and be the goal scoring striker Tottenham so desperately need. Kane has scored four goals in the Premier League, which have all come in his last eight appearances and 12 goals in all competitions this season and with Tottenham’s other strikers underperforming he will have to continue to be the main goal threat and help the team to keep climbing up the table. Kane is starting to show that he is a not just a hard worker for the team but a good finisher as well with a 16% conversion rate and 52% shot accuracy. He will look to continue his form going into the New Year and hope that his performances can help him eventually get a call up to the England team.
Prediction
I’m sitting on the fence for this one but I feel that Leicester can provide a performance that will give the home fans something to be proud of and hopefully turn their season around with.
My Prediction – Leicester 2-2 Spurs Â
