Tottenham Hotspur will endeavour to get their top-four charge back on track when they welcome Leicester City to North London for Sunday's Premier League clash.
Antonio Conte's side played out a goalless stalemate with Brentford last time out, while the Foxes drew 1-1 with Roma in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final.
Match preview
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With Dejan Kulusevski seemingly providing the missing piece of the attacking jigsaw with Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, it was difficult to picture any side who could keep Tottenham at bay, but Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford had all the answers.
Taking just one point and failing to find the back of the net in their last two Premier League games has allowed Tottenham to cede control of the Champions League race to bitter rivals Arsenal, with their recent dip in form certainly amusing Gooners before what will likely be a pivotal North London derby on May 12.
The gap to the Gunners is only two points, though, meaning that Conte's side could rise back into the top four for at least a couple of hours before Arsenal take on West Ham United, and three points on Sunday is of paramount importance before a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on May 7.
A lack of goals is one thing, but Tottenham's failure to even have a shot on target in their last two games is inexplicable with the attacking talent at Conte's disposal, and no side has ever gone three Premier League games without a shot on target since the start of the 2003-04 season.
The Lilywhites have also kept just one clean sheet in their last six league matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - albeit while scoring 15 themselves - but failure to find their shooting boots on Sunday could prove fatal to their hopes of dining at Europe's top table.
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Seeking to add a European honour to their trophy cabinet already boasting the Premier League and FA Cup, Leicester have given themselves a fighting chance of advancing to the final of the Europa Conference League after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Roma at the King Power.
A well-worked move from Jose Mourinho's men in the first half ended with captain Lorenzo Pellegrini finishing through the legs of Kasper Schmeichel, but Gianluca Mancini's own goal restored parity for Leicester in the second period after some tireless work from Harvey Barnes down the left.
Attempting to get the better of Roma on the Stadio Olimpico turf will be no mean feat for this Leicester side who have now drawn each of their last three in all tournaments, and attempting to juggle European and domestic commitments has seen the Foxes take just two points from the last nine on offer in the Premier League to sit 10th in the table - 10 points off the top seven with a couple of games in hand.
Vying for Europa Conference League glory is undoubtedly the Foxes' best chance to return to continental competition for 2022-23, especially seeing as Brendan Rodgers's side travel to Tottenham having won just one of their last 11 Premier League games on the road - only Burnley, Norwich City and Everton have fared worse on rival turf this term.
It took a Steven Bergwijn spectacular for Spurs to snatch a last-gasp 3-2 win on Leicester's turf back in January, and while the Foxes did win 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, making lightning strike twice in the capital with their European fatigue in tow will be a tall order indeed.
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Team News
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As well as Matt Doherty and Japhet Tanganga - both of whom are out for the season with knee injuries - Spurs have also revealed that Oliver Skipp will be sidelined for the long term after undergoing a groin operation.
The 21-year-old had struggled to overcome injury and infection in the area and will aim to be back in training for the pre-season, while Sergio Reguilon will also miss out due to groin pain.
The Lilywhites' XI should have a familiar feel to it despite the recent pair of disappointing results, as Ryan Sessegnon continues on the left and Harry Kane seeks to build on a tally of 18 goals in 17 matches against the Foxes.
As if Rodgers has not had enough defensive absentees to worry about this season, Leicester lost Timothy Castagne to an eye injury in the 21st minute against Roma, but Rodgers has affirmed that the right-back is in contention to line up here after scans did not show any serious injury.
Ryan Bertrand and Wilfred Ndidi are still out for the Foxes, and the need to be cautious over Castagne opens up a spot for Luke Thomas to return as James Justin hopes to deputise for Ricardo Pereira on the right.
Jamie Vardy lasted just over an hour on Thursday and will almost certainly be rested ahead of the second leg, so Kelechi Iheanacho could also return in a much-changed Leicester XI this week.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Justin, Soyuncu, Amartey, Thomas; Tielemans, Soumare; Lookman, Maddison, Barnes; Iheanacho
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Leicester City
In spite of their alarming lack of attacking bite over the past couple of weeks, Sunday's game provides Spurs with the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways against a weary Leicester side who do not travel well at all.
With Rodgers potentially primed to make a number of defensive alterations given the quick turnaround, Conte's side can feel confident of breaking their goal drought and piling the pressure back on Arsenal.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 59.57%. A draw had a probability of 20.4% and a win for Leicester City had a probability of 19.99%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.45%) and 1-0 (7.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.2%), while for a Leicester City win it was 1-2 (5.34%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would win this match.
