Tottenham Opposition Scouting Report: Leicester City

By Ryan Wrenn | Oct 28, 2016

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 18: Claudio Ranieri manager of Leicester City looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Group G match between Leicester City FC and FC Copenhagen at The King Power Stadium on October 18, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

Tottenham might take some comfort in suspecting that this is not the same Leicester City that tore through the Premier League last term.

Nine games is hardly a comprehensive sample, but what we’ve seen so far from the Foxes is not title material. They are currently in 12th place with 11 points after nine matches. White Hart Lane isn’t likely to be the turning point of their season either: their away record is the worst in the Premier League, with no wins and 13 goals conceded over four losses to Hull, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

What makes that string of results particularly odd is that it’s in exactly those types of situations where Leicester thrived last season.

They banked on opponents — in particular ostensibly stronger ones like Liverpool, United and Chelsea — pushing high up the pitch, especially when they played on their home grounds. It was there, just outside their own third, that Leicester would press and spark dazzling counter-attacks that ended, more often than not, with Jamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez punishing opponents on the opposite end.

This was a deceptively simply mechanism that confounded sides big and small again and again and again last season. It didn’t seem unreasonable to think that Ranieri could continue to do so again into this season, much to the chagrin of the Premier League’s perennial title contenders.

Leicester’s struggle over the summer was to retain the pieces of that mechanism that made it work. Both Vardy and Mahrez stayed on, resisting interest from at home and abroad. That seemed sufficient enough to Leicester fans and pundits alike that it hardly seemed to register how much would change against N’Golo Kanté was sold to Chelsea.

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Almost lost between Vardy’s hunt for a Golden Boot and Mahrez winning the PFA Player of the Year award was just how central Kanté was to Leicester’s success. The diminutive French midfielder was the all-action destroyer/creator that allowed Leicester to spin on a pivot. He was a singularly talented player that Leicester would have a very hard time replacing.

What makes Leicester’s struggles particularly odd is that that effort to replace Kanté never really materialized. Yes, they bought Nampalys Mendy, but the former Nice midfielder is more of a passer than the aggressive tackler Leicester actually needed. That he’s only played 53 minutes for Leicester this season due to injury only makes Kanté’s absence seem all the more damaging.

Danny Drinkwater’s stepped into Kanté’s role but, as the latter’s stellar performances for Chelsea so far this season have proven, there’s simply no replicating them. There’s a seemingly unfillable Kanté-sized hole in Leicester’s title hopes this year.

From Tottenham’s perspective, Kanté’s absence won’t automatically mean that their efforts to play through the middle will dramatically improve. Drinkwater and Daniel Amartey are still a duo capable of some tricks, but it will be decidedly easier than it was in January’s 1-0 loss at White Hart Lane.

Add to that the fact that Wes Morgan and Robert Huth have yet to reclaim their incredible form in the centre-back positions, and perhaps never will. Those two went relatively unheralded ahead of last season’s remarkable season, and now seem to be settling back down to Earth.

It might be too early to say the same of Vardy, but the signs aren’t looking good. He’s scored just twice in eight starts and one substitute appearance, a far cry from his stunning form from last season. As Tottenham fans well know, though, a striker can certainly be forgiven for experiencing a bit of a slump to start the season.

The arrival of Islam Slimani has added pressure to Vardy to start producing now however. The Algerian looked a real goalscoring talent with Sporting in Portugal — enough that Tottenham were linked with him for much of last season. If he can replicate that form with Leicester, Vardy’s spot could very well be at risk.

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Ranieri might not be so adventurous to start both Vardy and Slimani on Saturday. Naming Shinji Okazaki would appear to be the more responsible move, allowing Leicester some level of link up play with a midfield that will likely be dealing with Victor Wanyama for the ninety minutes.

The takeaway here is that this Leicester side is a shadow of the Premier League champions. It looks very much the same, but is different in just enough small ways — the absence of Kanté, Vardy’s slow start — that Tottenham can expect a lot more penetration and a lot less of a threat going the other way.