Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Last season these two sides were trying to make something of a title race, truth be told for all the pressure that Tottenham put on Leicester they could never really bridge the gap and as we all know they conspired to finish third in a two horse race.
Due to their title run in of last season it is fair to say that there is an element of needle between the now previous Premier League champions Leicester and Spurs and that rivalry will be reignited this evening when the two sides go head to head at the King Power Stadium.
There perhaps is not as much needle this time around as Leicester are languishing in the upper echelons of mid table while Tottenham have already secured second place in the table thanks to their 2-1 win over Manchester United in what was the perfect send off for White Hart Lane.
That said Leicester have had the number of Mauricio Pochettino’s men as they are unbeaten in their last three head to heads. It’s 1 win and 2 draws for the Foxes and they will look to increase that streak tonight while improving their chances of a top half finish.
Credit must go to Craig Shakespeare who has not only kept the club up after their near terminal slide down the table but also revived them to the point when a credible top half finish looks a real possibility. The question now is whether or not Shakespeare has done enough to warrant the job on a permanent basis,.
One thing that may well go against him is that there is no doubting his coaching abilities but he has worked with a group of players in a closed time frame without the worry of having to spend money, he’s never been a manager before and those kind of responsibilities it brings so will that go against him.
A win this evening for Leicester would see them move back up to 9th place and only behind Southampton by virtue of goal difference. Last time out they were unlikely to lose to Manchester City at The Etihad as a number of refereeing decisions went against them.
Firstly there was the contentious nature in which City opened the scoring. Raheem Sterling was offside and interfering with play as David Silva’s shot fizzed past him. That was bad but it would get worse as Riyad Mahrez was harshly adjudged to have struck the ball twice from the penalty spot after slipping before placing the ball past Willy Caballero.
A day to forget for the officials and for Leicester and they will hope that things are better this evening when Spurs make the trip to East Midlands. With second already in the bag, manager Pochettino could well take this game as a chance to give some fringe players a run out.
In fairness bar Leicester wanting to earn a top half finish and the additional prize money that comes with it there is really not a great deal to play for in what should be something of an end of season run out for both clubs. Something that has been the case for a lot of teams this week.
Pochettino can either look at in two ways either continue the momentum that the club what with their impressive string of performances or he can give those star players a well deserved end of season rest. I have a feeling it may well be the latter.
I also have a feeling that it might be a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show tonight as after the highs of Sunday’s celebrations this game could prove to be a blowout. I would not be surprised if Leicester win and truth be told I don’t really care all that much either. End of season fatigue kicking in perhaps but we shall see if I am right later on.
