Tottenham v Leicester preview: Spurs seeking much-needed win

Tottenham Hotspur will be desperate to bounce back from their disappointing defeat to Manchester United with victory over Leicester City at White Hart Lane.

The 3-0 loss at Old Trafford was a severe blow to Spurs' top-four ambitions and means they face an uphill task to secure Champions League football next season.

But they will be hoping to get their challenge back on track against the Premier League's basement side on Saturday.

Leicester are seven points from safety and have not won a game since their 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup on January 24.

The Foxes have taken just two points from their last seven top-flight matches and manager Nigel Pearson has urged his side to be more ruthless in front of goal.

Team news

Roberto Soldado is Spurs' only doubt after he missed last weekend's loss at United with a knee injury, while Harry Kane is set to lead the line against his former club two days after securing his first England call-up.

Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is available again after returning from a foot injury to play 90 minutes for the development squad on Monday.

Midfielder Dean Hammond continues his recovery from a calf injury and the only long-term absentee is Zoumana Bakayogo (knee). 

Opta facts

Tottenham are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League matches at White Hart Lane (W6 D3) and have lost just one of the last 15 home games in all competitions (W10 D4 L1), but that was to Leicester in the FA Cup.

Leonardo Ulloa has scored in all four of his starts against the two big north London sides Arsenal and Tottenham.

Spurs have recovered 16 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other team.

The Foxes have failed to score a first-half goal in any of their last seven Premier League games.

Christian Eriksen has scored more winning goals than any other player in the Premier League this season (6).

Esteban Cambiasso has scored three goals from just four shots on target for Leicester.

Merson's prediction

People are going to think that it's my Arsenal connections as I am going to go for a Leicester win here. Spurs were poor last week at United and Harry Kane has just been called up by England. And that may mean him subconsciously not wanting to get injured and his head could be on the international games next week, while Spurs have been over-reliant on his and Christian Eriksen's goals so far this season. And they also won at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup, so that is why I am going for them this week.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2

Betting

Tottenham are Sky Bet's 4/7 favourites for the victory, with Leicester up against odds of 4/1 to boost their survival chances with a win and 100/30 to secure a draw. Both sides head into the clash with waning aspirations, as Spurs have drifted out to 9/1 for a top-four finish while their visitors are 100/30 to avoid relegation. The away team have won 2-1 in both meetings between these sides this season and the Foxes are 14/1 to win by that scoreline again, while Spurs are half that price to do so themselves. Harry Kane heads the first goalscorer betting at just 16/5 while Andrej Kramaric is rated the visitors' biggest threat at 8/1.

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