Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur are set to trade tackles in a tasty-looking Premier League encounter at the King Power Stadium.

A 4-1 FA Cup triumph over Watford fired Leicester City to a flying start to the new calendar year, helping them build on a 1-0 home win over Liverpool in their final Premier League fixture of 2021. However, a lack of consistency heading into their first top-flight game of 2022 has seen the Midlanders alternate between victories and defeats across their last four league outings (W2, L2). Despite hovering in 10th in the league standings, the ‘Foxes’ still have realistic chances of clutching away a coveted Champions League qualification as they sit 12 points behind fourth-placed West Ham with four games in hand. Adding to their confidence, Brendan Rodgers’ have won their last three Premier League home matches on the trot by an aggregate score of 9-2. It’s worth noting, though, that two of their three top-flight home defeats this term have come at the hands of London sides.

On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur have hit the ground running under the stewardship of new boss Antonio Conte, going unbeaten in all eight Premier League fixtures under his guidance (W5, D3). But after squeezing past Watford 1-0 in their inaugural Premier League game in 2022, ‘Spurs’ have lost both subsequent competitive matches against top-flight opposition, courtesy of a brace of Carabao Cup defeats to Chelsea. A lack of ruthlessness in front of goal could be another problem for the visitors, as they’ve netted just seven goals in their eight Premier League away games this season (0.9 per match). Interestingly, though, five of those seven strikes have come before half-time, highlighting the potential for an action-packed first half. Tottenham eked out a 2-1 victory at Leicester in the 2020/21 season and could make it back-to-back away league meetings with this opponent for the first time since October 2003/December 2014.