What to expect as Tottenham visits Leicester on the last day

What to expect Leicester v Tottenham

So we have established we should have a fun open game of football. This is bad news for both defenses and neither are exactly stout. Neither is a sieve by any stretch of the imagination but extended pressure makes both Leicester City and Tottenham vulnerable defensively. This is especially true for Spurs where the back should expect to be under constant pressure.

Foxes will keep pressure on the Spurs defense

In sports there is the mental pressure, which Leicester will most certainly be under, then there is physical pressure. In football, most teams – not the Spurs- try to keep a striker up at the top of the field to keep physical pressure on a defense. Tottenham is particularly vulnerable to this kind of attack given the lack of speed at the back.

Even when the player on the last defender’s shoulder is not a speed demon, having that man there helps to pressure the defense and pounce on opportunities. It was pouncing on an opportunity that led to Villa’s second goal midweek as Ollie Watkins was ready when the opportunity came.

This happened because of how Watkins was positioned all day long. Ollie Watkins was so committed to being on the shoulder of the last defender his average position was actually closer to Hugo Lloris than either Eric Dier or Toby Alderweireld.

Ollie Watkins is quick, Jamie Vardy is fast. If Vardy is able to take up the same kind of spaces on the pitch and stay on Eric Dier or Toby Alderweireld’s shoulder all day, it spells trouble for Tottenham. If Tottenham sits back, this just gets Vardy closer to the goal and if they get stretched he has more room to run.

In other words, the Lilywhites are likely in trouble defensively. The kind of constant pressure that the best, like Leicester City,  teams provide has caused problems for Tottenham, both on and off the ball, all season. Expect that to continue on Sunday.

Everyone will have a keen eye on the scoreboard

The one other thing, besides Tottenham under a lot of duress, is a lot of looking at the jumbotron screen. No players will not be looking at the replays so much as they will the scores around the league as the battle for European places rages.

One of the beautiful and difficult things about the Premier League is the free-for-all 10 matches at once bonanza that is the last day of the season. From a sporting perspective, it kind of makes sense. No one just tanks it or whatever because they do not know what else might happen.

Regardless of the rationale, it is the reality and with both Tottenham and Leicester City looking for help they both have reason to watch. If West Ham gets out to an early lead on Southampton, Spurs could mail it in. Alternatively, if Southampton scores quickly and that Europa League door opens a bit wider, Tottenham could bring more.

WIth Leicester they know they are in Europe and potentially Chelsea and Liverpool both blowing out their opponents could cause them to throw it in. Outside of both the Blues and Reds taking big, early, leads, Leicester should stay engaged with an eye on those scores.

Hopefully, regardless of what is happening elsewhere, both teams give us the show we and some 10,000 or so fans live at King Power Stadium deserve. While at least one, if not both teams are going to end the day in disappointment overall, there is a style at which that should occur. That is part of the DNA right?