Notebook – Spurs v Leicester City

We return home this weekend as we host Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon (2pm kick-off).

Here in the Notebook, take a look at all the key points of note ahead of the game…

1 - A special edition shirt - AIA Better Lives Fund

For this fixture, our players will be wearing a special edition home shirt as part of our Grant A Wish with AIA Better Lives charity shirt collaboration with AIA Singapore. The initiative, which aims to raise funds to support good causes in Singapore and the Club’s Foundation, will see our famous Lilywhite shirt adorn the AIA Better Lives Fund logo on Sunday. After the match, the limited edition shirts will then be signed by the players before being auctioned to raise funds for the AIA Better Lives Fund and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

2 - Antonio’s century

Leicester’s visit on Sunday will mark Antonio Conte’s 100^th game as a manager in the Premier League. Having previously been Head Coach at Chelsea, where he oversaw 64 games in the competition between 2016 and 2018, he is set to reach his century against the Foxes having been in charge of 23 league games for us to date. He has won just under two thirds of his 99 matches in England’s top tier so far (64) and has collected 206 points in the competition. Antonio will become the fourth Italian manager to reach the milestone after Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea, Leicester and Fulham), Roberto Mancini (Manchester City) and Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea and Everton).

3 - On top against Leicester

In recent years, we have enjoyed our meetings with Leicester. Over our last 10 Premier League encounters with the Foxes, we have regularly come out on top having taken all three points on seven occasions (L3). That run includes three wins in our last four home matches against them (L1) - a run of games in which we have scored 11 goals - while we have also won each of the last two fixtures between the sides, including our most recent meeting back in January.

4 - Our last meeting

What a night and what a win we enjoyed against Leicester back in January! A game full of quality, goals and late drama, it was one of our performances of the season and a match that Steven Bergwijn will not forget in a hurry.

Arriving at the King Power Stadium still unbeaten under Antonio Conte in the Premier League - a run of eight games - we were made to work hard to keep that run alive in Leicestershire, but ultimately, we came out on top and were good value for our victory. Despite falling behind twice, first to Patson Daka's opener on 24 minutes and then, after Harry Kane's equaliser at the end of the first half, to James Maddison's 78th-minute strike, a stunning late, late cameo off the bench from Steven Bergwijn saw us claim all three points.

Producing the latest of late comebacks the Premier League has ever seen, with us trailing 2-1 as the clock ticked onto 94 minutes and 52 seconds, we managed to get ourselves back on terms as Stevie lashed the ball in from close range. We then went in search of a winner and, when our Dutch forward took the ball round Kasper Schmeichel 79 seconds later to have the goal at his mercy once more, he made no mistake, slamming the ball in off the post to see us claim all three points.

4 - Conte's Foxes record

And that victory continued Antonio Conte’s unbeaten record against Leicester. Having faced the Foxes on seven occasions to date in his managerial career, he has come out on top six times, drawing the other.

5 - A game for goals

The victory at the King Power was also another game in a long list of high-scoring encounters between us and Leicester since their return to the Premier League in 2014. Following their promotion from the Championship ahead of the 2014/15 season, we have taken on the East Midlands side 15 times in the top flight and, in those games, a total of 59 goals have been scored – an average of almost four goals per game. Of those 59 strikes, 36 (61 per cent) have been scored by us – that is the most Foxes have conceded to a single team in that time, while it is the most we have scored against a single team in the same period.

7 - The Foxes’ travelling difficulties

As of late, Leicester have suffered on the road in the Premier League. Over their last 11 away games in the competition, the Foxes have managed just one win, drawing four and losing six in that run. That sole victory came at Burnley at the start of March – they earned a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor, which also brought about their first away clean sheet since a 0-0 draw at Wolves in February, 2021.

8 - Rodgers’ resolute Foxes

Despite their recent troubles on their road, since the start of spring, Brendan Rodgers’ side have proven tough to beat. Following their aforementioned victory away at Burnley at the start of March, Leicester have lost just twice in nine games, winning four and drawing the other three. And that good run of form has coincided with their progress to the final four of the Europa Conference League - they earned a 1-1 draw with Serie A side AS Roma at the King Power on Thursday night in the first leg of their semi-final tie.

9 - The Foxes and Kane

Harry Kane has a habit of finding the back of the net against Leicester. A side he spent time on loan at earlier in his career having turned out for the Foxes in the second half of the 2012/13 season, Harry has 16 goals in just 13 Premier League appearances against them - only Alan Shearer has netted more goals against a single opponent in the competition – 20 versus Leeds United. Our number 10’s tally against the East Midlands side includes two hat-tricks (including a four-goal haul in May, 2017) and two braces, as well as a goal and an assist in each of his last two appearances.

10 - Vardy’s return

Last weekend, Leicester were boosted by the return of their all-time top Premier League goalscorer, Jamie Vardy. The striker, who had been out since early March with a knee injury, made his comeback for the Foxes last Saturday as he came off the bench for the final 19 minutes of their 0-0 home draw with Aston Villa. He then started for them against AS Roma in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night,

In his league career to date, Vardy has been involved in 11 goals in just 13 appearances against us, scoring eight and assisting three. He has also scored seven of Leicester's last 15 goals against us which includes three in his last two appearances.