After their amazing exploits last season, Leicester were always going to find it difficult to match it this term. Nobody envisaged them sustaining their performances throughout the course of 2015/16 but to their immense credit, Claudio Ranieri and his players were able to pull off the biggest shock in Premier League history. This one has been slightly stop start but they remain well capable on their day – as has been proven with their three wins from three games in Europe’s premier club competition. Currently sitting in 12th place in the Premier League on 11 points, the Foxes will be content with their current position, accepting of the fact it is a much more competitive field and because they are having to juggle domestic competition with Europe for the first time in over two decades – and the first ever time at the elite level. Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace was an illustration of how clinical they can be and it’s that which should ensure they are more than comfortable in terms of their status in the league. It’s difficult to say what would be considered a successful season considering what they achieved last term, but a top place finish and progression in the Champions League would certainly not be a bad effort.
Tottenham v Leicester Betting Tips – – 29 October 2016
Spurs can get back to winning ways
27th October 2016 /
Saturday 29th October 2016 Kickoff: 1500hrs
Tottenham v Leicester
Football – England – Premier League
The Premier League is beginning to take shape now as we approach the end of October and if we have have learned anything so far it is that there is unlikely to be one outstanding team likely to runaway with it – similar to last term. Fittingly enough, two of the teams who featured heavily in the battle for the last season’s title meet at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Tottenham were in pursuit of Leicester for much of the campaign only to fall short and concede second place to Arsenal on the final weekend. They will hope to be up there again whilst the Foxes are continuing on their fairytale by sweeping all before them in the Champions League.
Tottenham were arguably the most improved side in the Premier League last season but were still no match for Leicester who contrived to upstage everybody. Mauricio Pochettino, now in his third season at White Hart Lane, had established himself as one of the most impressive coaches in the league and Spurs have picked up where they left off. Their form in the initial part of this season has led them to being just one point off joint leaders Arsenal and Manchester City. Although that can only be described as a very positive start – particularly as they are getting used to the challenge of Champions League football – they may well be a touch disappointed having drawn their last two league games. Coming on the back of an excellent 2-0 win at home to City, Spurs have been unable to convert their domination against West Brom and Bournemouth into wins. That said, they remain the only unbeaten side in the league and are doing all this without the services of Harry Kane who has been missing through injury. The real challenge for this team is finishing their season the same way they started at, which has been the issue in the past.
Tottenham refused to disrupt their squad from last season, too much, instead choosing to add depth in certain areas. Victor Wanyama was one of those players and he has been a virtual ever present since moving from Southampton. Having played under Pochettino before, he has slotted in seamlessly to the team and strengthened their central midfield, which was a times an area of weakness defensively last season. It’s also allowed Eric Dier to move back to centre half when needed. The one area that Spurs still struggle with is the central striking position. Harry Kane has been their main source of goals for the last couple of seasons but it was identified that he could be better supported. Vincent Janssen was brought in from FC Twente but both his goals have come from the penalty spot, and they have lacked that killer instinct in the last two games.
Leicester recognised the fact that they had to improve the depth of their squad with the added demands of the Champions League to contend with. The form of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez last season was a massive contributor to their success but Ranieri would be fully aware that for them to have a similar impact they would require support. The manager has elected to rest the duo at various times already, thanks in part to the addition of Ahmed Musa and Islam Slimani for big money moves. Both add Champions League experience and make their attack more dynamic. With further European commitments ahead, you can expect Ranieri to prioritise those games ahead of league duty – which is perfectly understandable.
Tottenham v Leicester Betting Tips
Both these teams will be playing in the Champions League during the week, but they have to give this fixture the respect it deserves in spite of that. Tottenham will be anxious to get back to winning ways having now not won in any of their last four games across all competitions – despite performing well – and Leicester will be looking to build on their impressive win over Palace last time out. The Foxes held the upper hand in the two league games played last term as they edged Spurs out in a repeat of this fixture after the two sides had shared the spoils earlier in the campaign.
I remain convinced that this Tottenham team are capable of sustaining their challenge for the title, providing they can find their touch again in front of goal. They are the lowest scorers in the top five, and by a considerable margin as well. The return of Kane will clearly improve that but his team mates have to step up to the mark just now, particularly Jannsen who may well benefit from scoring against Liverpool in the EFL Cup midweek. The bookies look to have priced this correctly but the odds against in the Asian handicap market for them to win by more than one goal looks appealing. A win my one goal would see stakes returned and any bigger winning margin would result in a winning bet.
Tottenham (-1) Asian Handicap 10/9 @ Betvictor
