Tottenham Hotspur will continue their preparations for the 2023-24 Premier League season when they take on now Championship outfit Leicester City in Bangkok on Sunday.
Spurs opened their pre-season with a 3-2 defeat to rivals West Ham United on Tuesday, while Leicester recorded a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town in their first friendly of the summer last weekend before beating OG Leuven in a training-ground contest on Wednesday.
Match preview
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Leicester's relegation from last season's Premier League was certainly a shock, with the Foxes only picking up 34 points from their 38 matches to finish in 18th position, which saw them drop into the Championship.
Now under the management of former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca, Leicester will be one of the favourites to win the second tier this season due to the strength of the squad and the summer acquisitions that have already been made.
Harry Winks and Conor Coady have joined from Tottenham and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively, while Mads Hermansen and Callum Doyle have also arrived.
Leicester beat Northampton 1-0 in their first friendly of the summer last Saturday before being involved in three 45-minute periods at their training ground against Leuven on Wednesday, ultimately running out 4-2 winners.
The Foxes have just two more friendlies this summer against Tottenham and Liverpool before beginning their Championship campaign with an eye-catching home game against Coventry City on August 6.
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Tottenham, meanwhile, were involved in a five-goal thriller with bitter rivals West Ham in their opening pre-season contest on Tuesday.
Spurs found themselves two goals behind in the early stages of the clash in Perth before Giovani Lo Celso and Destiny Udogie came off the bench to level the scores, but West Ham won it late on, with Gianluca Scamacca netting to make it 3-2 to the Hammers at Optus Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou's side will now take on Leicester, Lion City Sailors, Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona ahead of their 2023-24 Premier League opener against Brentford on August 13.
Spurs have secured permanent deals for Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski this summer, while James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Manor Solomon have arrived to boost the squad.
Winks to Leicester has been their major departure, with the club thus far being able to keep hold of a certain Harry Kane, but Bayern Munich are still pushing to sign the England captain, who is in the final year of his contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it will be fascinating to see how the transfer saga ends.
Team News
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Leicester boss Maresca made wholesale changes for the three 45-minute periods against Leuven on Wednesday and that will again be the case in this match.
Jamie Vardy looks set to stay at the King Power Stadium this summer despite interest from Saudi Arabia, and the experienced forward should again captain the team from the tip of the attack.
James Justin played the third 45 minutes on Wednesday but could come in for a start here, while Kelechi Iheanacho might also be introduced into the starting XI. Winks, meanwhile, should feature against his former club.
Harvey Barnes will not be involved, though, as he nears a switch to Newcastle United.
As for Spurs, Rodrigo Bentancur, Fraser Forster, Bryan Gil, Troy Parrott, Ryan Sessegnon and Hugo Lloris will all be absent, as was the case against West Ham.
Head coach Postecoglou will again want to have a look at his squad in this match, so it would not be a surprise to see two different XIs take to the field for each half.
Kane should again lead the line with support from Maddison, but there could be a change in a wide area, with Richarlison potentially starting, while Ben Davies could also be introduced at the back.
Eric Dier, Djed Spence, Joe Rodon and Son Heung-min could all be involved after missing the opening match of the tour, while Tanguy Ndombele is also expected back after a slight knock.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Justin, Faes, Coady, Castagne; Dewsbury-Hall, Winks, Ndidi; Albrighton, Vardy, Iheanacho
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Davies, Reguilon; Skipp, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Kane
We say: Leicester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Leicester are ahead of Spurs in terms of their preparations for the new season, so the Foxes should, in theory, be the fitter side on Sunday. Tottenham were involved in an entertaining clash with West Ham last time out, and we are predicting more goals here, with the spoils being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
