Sports Mole provides team news, predicted lineups and a full preview of Sunday's Premier League meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City. Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to maintain the pressure on the Premier League's top two when they play host to Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. The Lilywhites remain in firm title contention thanks to three top-flight wins on the spin, leaving them five points adrift of Manchester City and Liverpool with a little over three months of the season to go. Tottenham Hotspur © Reuters Since losing 1-0 at home to Manchester United on January 13 to leave their league campaign somewhat in limbo, Tottenham have defeated Fulham, Watford and Newcastle United - at the same time that City and Liverpool were dropping points - to drag themselves right back into the title mix. All three of those victories have come via late goals - Harry Winks scoring in the 93rd minute against Fulham, Son Heung-min and Fernando Llorente in the final 10 minutes against Watford, and Son again seven minutes from time against Newcastle United. Had it been any other side, it would be easy to say that Spurs are showing all the hallmarks of champions. Yet recent history points towards Mauricio Pochettino's men fading away and ending the season without any silverware to show for their efforts. That looks even more likely now following a terrible few days at the end of January that saw them knocked out of the EFL Cup by Chelsea and the FA Cup by Crystal Palace. Pochettino claimed that lifting one of those cups would have been good for his ego, but it is the Premier League and Champions League that he is really after. In that case, this next month really is massive for the Lilywhites as they face the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in the top flight, as well as Bundesliga pacesetters Borussia Dortmund over two legs in the last 16 of the Champions League. A return of nine wins in 11 league matches is a run of form that has to be sustained over the remaining 13 matches of the season, something that many of Tottenham's critics - and there are many of them - will feel is simply not sustainable. Pochettino knows the importance of going all out for victories, having seen his side salvage an additional seven points in the final 10 minutes of their last three matches. It has now been 29 league games since Spurs last played out a draw - only Portsmouth, between March 1928 and February 1929 (38 games) have gone on a longer run. With Man City, who have already played a game more, not in action until later on Sunday, Pochettino's men can really increase the pressure on the champions. Liverpool have a winnable home match against Bournemouth 24 hours beforehand, but all Spurs can do is continue winning matches and hope for more slip-ups from their rivals to ensure that this three-way title race goes the distance. Recent form in Premier League: LWLWWW Recent form (all competitions): LWLLWW Leicester City © Reuters For a manager who never seems to be more than one bad result away from being on the brink of dismissal, Claude Puel can perhaps consider himself fortunate to still be in a job following a run of four defeats and a draw in his side's last five outings. One of those defeats came at League Two side Newport County in round three of the FA Cup when fielding a far-from-full-strength starting lineup, having also done so in the EFL Cup quarter-final loss to Manchester City a month earlier. Supporters did not take kindly to those losses, since followed up by defeats to Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Man United, plus a draw with Liverpool at Anfield. That point on Merseyside makes Leicester's inconsistency all the more baffling. Back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Man City in December preceded a home loss to strugglers Cardiff City, suggesting that the Foxes are better suited for games against the big boys. Leicester are one of just three non 'big six' sides to have won away against such a team this season - their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge - along with Wolves and Crystal Palace. Victory at Stamford Bridge is City's only away-day triumph in London in 11 attempts, though, having lost six and drawn four of the previous 10 in the Premier League. Four defeats in their previous five overall is as many as Puel's side suffered in their previous 15 combined, and now they have to stop the rot if they are to avoid a mixed campaign ending on a low note. Puel has done well to integrate a number of youngsters into the first team, but City have slipped into the bottom half of the table and need to offer a response when they travel to Wembley on Sunday. Recent form in Premier League: LWLLDL Recent form (all competitions): WLLLDL Team News © Reuters Key attacking pair Dele Alli and Harry Kane appear to be ahead of schedule on their respective returns from hamstring and ankle injuries, but neither will be fit to play a part this weekend. Llorente was tasked with leading the line in the first four games of Kane's absence and scored a couple of goals, but Son's return from international duty has seen Pochettino go with the South Korean through the middle. Son has had a hand in 14 goals in his last 11 starts in the Premier League for Tottenham, scoring 10 and assisting four. Pochettino will have the midweek meeting with Dortmund in mind when selecting his XI to face Leicester, which could mean some rotation, with Ben Davies the only other confirmed absentee. In terms of the visitors, Daniel Amartey and Marc Albrighton are both on the sidelines and will miss out on inclusion here. Puel brought in Youri Tielemans on loan last week and will no doubt be keen to hand the young midfielder his debut on Sunday, which will lead to a reshuffle in attacking midfield. Assuming James Maddison retains his place in the side, Demarai Gray - who has one goal and no assists in his last 17 matches - may well be the fall guy. Jamie Vardy is a guaranteed starter, meanwhile, and he has been directly involved in seven goals in his last seven league appearances against Tottenham, netting three goals in his last two against them. Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup: Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose; Sissoko, Winks; Lamela, Eriksen, Lucas; Son Leicester City possible starting lineup: Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Mendy, Ndidi; Maddison, Tielemans, Barnes; Vardy Head To Head Tottenham have won three of their last four top-flight encounters with Leicester, including the last two, but they have not won three in a row in this fixture since February 1987. City failed to score in the reverse meeting - a 2-0 loss at the King Power Stadium in early December - and they are now aiming to avoid going consecutive games without netting against Spurs for the first time since 2000. All in all, the hosts have won 55 and drawn 21 of the 111 matches between the two sides since their first encounter in January 1914. We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Leicester City If Tottenham are to continue their unexpected title challenge, they require all three points from this meeting with 2016 champions Leicester. The Lilywhites are in good form in the Premier League, in stark contrast to their opponents, and they should make it four wins in a row this weekend.<doc-sep>Tottenham Team News: Mauricio Pochettino (left) and Harry Kane (right) HERE for the latest MUFC breaking news and transfer updates SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign upfor the latest MUFC breaking news and transfer updates When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. The England international will miss the visit of the Foxes due to a virus. Tottenham will also be without left-back Ben Davies, who is currently recovering from a groin injury. Harry Kane and Dele Alli returned to training earlier this week but won’t feature in today’s match at Wembley. The pair are recovering from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively and are expected to return to the fold later this month. Kane, 25, hasn’t set played since Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United, while Alli has been on the sidelines since Spurs' last-gasp victory over Fulham in January. Heung-Min Song is expected to lead the line in Kane's absence. On Friday, Alli gave fans a fresh injury update on his recovery from his rehabilitation camp in Dubai in a series of Instagram stories of himself performing drills. One of the videos had the accompanying caption: "Feeling good." Tottenham Team News: Eric Dier will miss the visit of Leicester due to illness Eric Dier will miss the visit of Leicester due to illness Tottenham enter today’s match on the back of consecutive victories of Watford and Newcastle, whom they beat 2-1 and 1-0 respectively. Mauricio Pochettino’s troops beat the Midlands club 2-0 in the reverse fixture in August but is expecting a ‘tough’ match today. “We are there in third,” the Argentine said. “Sunday will be key - to win the three points will be tough though. “They are a good team with a good manager and for us it is key to win the three points to be involved until the end.” Tottenham Team News: Harry Kane is still out with an ankle injury Tottenham Team News: Dele Alli is still recovering from his hamstring injury Leicester manager Claude Puel said: “Tottenham have a fantastic squad with a lot of options. “I don't know if we can arrive at this level but of course we want to continue to develop our players like other big teams." Tottenham currently sit in third place in the table, five points behind second-placed Manchester City. Tottenham Team News: Son is expected to lead the line for Tottenham today<doc-sep>
It’s been two months since Tottenham Hotspur rolled to a 2-0 win over a Jamie Vardy-less Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Not a whole lot has changed since that match: Vardy is back and is still the Foxes’ leading goal scorer with 7 goals this season. They are solidly mid-table — currently in 11th place — but it hasn’t been going that well lately. Predicted Lineup Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wolverhampton Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK Date: Sunday, March 1, 2020 Time: 9 am ET, 2 pm UK TV: not televised (USA/UK) Stream: NBC Sports Gold ($) Apart from an improbable draw at Liverpool two weeks ago, Claude Puel’s side have picked up only four points from a possible 18, and are currently on a streak of four matches without a win. Despite what looks like on paper a pretty good attack, they’re not creating a whole lot of chances, and those chances aren’t leading to very many shots. Their xG is right where it should be for their table position. Were it not for the injuries to Kane and Alli, I’d feel a lot better about this match. Leicester’s defense, however, is still pretty good — currently seventh in the league based on goals against. Kasper Schmeichel is a solid keeper, and Claude Puel has his side set up in a well structured formation that only allows 11.6 shots per match, just ahead of Spurs. That should be a giant neon warning sign for Spurs, who are missing Harry Kane and Dele Alli and aren’t putting up the same kind of shot numbers in their absence. Son Heung-Min has picked up some of that chance creation burden, but Spurs have made a habit recently of leaving it late to get their winners. Against a good Leicester defense, they may find it more difficult on Sunday, and it’s easy to see Spurs shipping a dumb goal and finding it difficult to score. I was concerned about playing an injury-ridden Leicester in December at the King Power, and I shouldn’t have been — Spurs mostly dominated that match with Kane and Eriksen starting on the bench. If anything, I’m more concerned about playing a nearly fully healthy Leicester at home without Kane and Dele. That might just be fatalism, but Spurs still haven’t fully convinced me that they can score without their two leading scorers. At least, it’d be nice if Spurs can pick up a goal before the 80th minute. How will Tottenham line up against Leicester? In some ways, predicting Spurs’ lineup against Leicester is about as straightforward as it’s been in the past couple of months. The injury situation is a known quantity. Harry Kane and Dele Alli are both still rehabilitating their long-term injuries. Ben Davies is still recuperating as well. Eric Dier will miss the match with a virus. Vincent Janssen has a “knee injury” (which I assume is code for “he is not in my plans”). With Son Heung-Min taking back his rightful place as Tottenham’s primary goal scorer, the questions are more in the finer details than in the broad strokes. At some level this is as good as Spurs have had it since December. Spurs have been relatively fortunate in that they haven’t had to play anyone especially outstanding while two of their best players have been out injured, but Leicester are a solid side with dangerous attacking talent. Spurs defeated a Jamie Vardy-less Leicester side at the King Power back in December, but this time the tables have been turned — Leicester are without only Marc Albrighton and Daniel Amartey. I feel confident enough in Spurs’ ability to corral players such as Vardy, James Maddison, and Demarai Grey. The key, as it has been for the past few weeks, is whether Spurs will be able to put together enough offense to get a goal or two past Kasper Schmeichel. There’s a decent chance that Pochettino attempts to negate the pace of Vardy by starting in a back three, which allows for the fullbacks to push forward more. That formation also allows Spurs to get all of their best players on the pitch. The big question is what, if anything, Pochettino will do with Dortmund coming midweek. It’s an opportunity to keep some players fresh for the Champions League, though obviously Son will start both matches. Fernando Llorente could start on Sunday, or he could continue his role as late-match super sub. What about Lucas Moura and Eric Lamela?