Antonio Conte's unbeaten streak in the Prem with Spurs to face a Leicester test

Antonio Conte’s unbeaten streak in the Prem with Spurs to face a Leicester test

After being booted out of the EFL Cup semi-finals by Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs will shift their attention back to the Premier League, as they travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.

With all hopes of silverware gone following the EFL exit, a top 4 finish in the league is now top priority for Spurs boss Antonio Conte. Currently, they sit at 6th spot in the Premier League, 1 point ahead of Manchester United and 2 points behind 5th placed Arsenal.

Spurs manager Antonio Conte has yet to taste defeat in a Premier League game, and are within reach of the top 4, as they have played 2 games less than 5th placed Arsenal, and 4 games less than 4th placed West Ham. However, with a tough schedule ahead of them in February and March, every point is vital at this stage.

As for Leicester, the game will be their first Premier League game of 2022, and the Foxes will look to start their 2022 campaign in a similar fashion to how their last game in 2021 went, with a 1-0 win over Liverpool.

Leicester have an unenviable list of absentees to battle through, with Wilfred Ndidi, Daniel Amartey, Nampalys Mendy and Kelechi Iheanacho all away at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira, Ryan Bertrand and Jamie Vardy will certainly miss out due to injuries. Elsewhere, full-back Timothy Castagne and midfielder Boubakary Soumare are doubts but may be called upon if required by Rogers.

Similarly to their hosts, Tottenham are certainly coming into battle with a depleted squad, with star forward Son Heung-min ruled out through injury. Centre-backs Eric Dier and Cristian Romero and left-back Sergio Reguilon will require further assessments alongside Steven Bergwijn, with the quartet all battling through various stages of injuries.

Owing to a somewhat mixed first half of the season, Leicester  sit 10th in the top flight on 25 points from 18 outings, with no team outside of the bottom six conceding more than the 33 goals that they have shipped in league play.

However, with at least two games in hand on every side above themselves other than Wednesday’s opponents, their standing could quickly change with an upturn in form, and the Northern Irish manager will be keen to see his side return to action in style.

Tottenham arrive in the Midlands looking to break into the top five after returning to winning ways in their most recent league game, defeating Watford 1-0 on New Year’s Day thanks to Davinson Sanchez’s 96th-minute header.

Since that victory, Antonio Conte’s men suffered a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final over two legs, either side of a 3-1 FA Cup win at home to third-tier strugglers Morecambe.

While the Lilywhites did successfully book their place in the next round, they were required to call on their key men as Harry Winks, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane got on the scoresheet in the final 15 minutes after the visitors took a first-half lead.

Now turning their attention back to league action, Conte’s men will aim for consecutive victories for just the second time since his appointment in November, although they do remain unbeaten in the top flight under the Italian.

With rivals Arsenal sitting just two points ahead, having played two more matches, Tottenham will be keen to take three points back to London and climb into the top five.

We say that Tottenham takes this match with a 2-1 score.