Tottenham keep Premier League title hopes alive with close-fought victory against Leicester
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham kept themselves in the Premier League title race with a 3-1 win over Leicester, who saw Jamie Vardy miss a penalty with his first touch of the game.
Goals from Davinson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min inspired a fourth successive victory which ensures Spurs will finish the weekend within five points of top spot.
Vardy, who was dropped to the substitutes' bench amid rumours of a bust-up with Claude Puel, missed the chance to equalise as his spot-kick immediately after coming on was saved by Hugo Lloris, though the former England striker atoned for it later by turning home to give his side a glimmer of hope.
But Spurs made the game safe at the death when Son scored a breakaway goal, which gave them a 20th win of the campaign and kept them hot on the heels of title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
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Team News
The team news is in from Wembley.
Danny Rose returns to the Spurs starting lineup, with Jan Vertonghen reverting to his customary centre-half spot. Oliver Skipp also earns a start in a remodelled midfield, while Fernando Llorente's crucial cameo against Newcastle sees the Spaniard leading the line again.
Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and Toby Alderweireld drop out.
Team News
Youri Tielemans makes his Leicester City debut at Wembley this afternoon, replacing Wilfred Ndidi in midfield. There is no Jamie Vardy for the visitors, Rachid Ghezzal promoted into the attacking foursome as Claude Puel shuffles his forward pack.
A debut for this man, then, with Monaco loanee Youri Tielemans straight into the Leicester starting lineup.
The Belgian has considerable pedigree, debuting for Anderlecht at just 16. While his subsequent move to the principality on the Cote D'Azur hasn't worked out, the classy midfielder is a considerable coup for Claude Puel and Tielemans has the quality to make a positive impact in the second half of the season.
Jan Vertonghen performed commendably at left-back against Newcastle last weekend, but a rested Danny Rose returns to combat Leicester's diverse forward threat with Vertonghen back at centre-half.
Rose may be keen to impress, with England incumbent Ben Chilwell his opposite number today. Against what looks to be a narrower Spurs system, there may well be space for both Chilwell and the attack-minded Ricardo Pereira.
Tottenham have been not-so-quick on the draw this season, with a remarkable record of 19 wins and 6 defeats through 25 games unblemished by points shared.
We are, of course, still at Wembley for these fixtures as Spurs put the finishing touches on their new stadium, particularly completing the requisite security tests. The club have another provisional date in mind for the grand opening...
Leicester have picked up just a single point from their previous four fixtures, slipping to 12th in the table. Claude Puel is not a popular man in the East Midlands with his dour style of play and questionable sections decisions drawing particularly criticism.
A win today would be a huge boost in a stagnating season. Seventh place remains within reach for Leicester despite their poor run, but an uptick in form in the near future is certainly necessary if they are to achieve that goal..
The reverse fixture between this pair came early in December on a Saturday night at the King Power Stadium.
Goals from Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli secured a 2-0 victory for Spurs against a lacklustre Leicester. No Dele Alli today, but Son returned from the Asian Cup with a goal last week and he'll be a key man again for Tottenham. It seems Son will start up front in conjunction with Fernando Llorente.
20 minutes until kick-off at Tottenham's not-so-temporary home.
Massive opportunity for Oliver Skipp, preferred to the fit again Victor Wanyama in midfield.
Jamie Vardy is only on the bench today, despite Claude Puel dismissing rumours of a rift between he and the striker this week. Demarai Gray is expected to operate as Leicester's forward-most attacker. A bold call, particularly given Vardy's strong scoring record against those at the top.
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