That’s all for now. Apologies to all whose comments we couldn’t get to. Clearly, we’ve a cracking few months in store. Thanks for following along with us.
Updated
Full-time: Tottenham 0-1 Leicester City
And there’s the final whistle! Robert Huth’s routine goal off a Fuchs corner seven minutes from time gives Leicester the three points. And just like that, thanks in no small part to a Joe Allen last-gasp equalizer at Anfield, Leicester move level with Arsenal atop the table with 43 points.
90+3 min: Lamela gives it away cheaply before conceding a free kick. Excellent pressure from Kante to force the miscue. Spurs running out of time here.
90+2 min: (Meanwhile at Anfield, Liverpool have seconds ago equalized against Arsenal – a detail of no small interest to Leicester supporters.)
90 min: Nathan Dyer, whose hand ball on Sunday gave Tottenham their last-gasp escape, enters for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez. For Spurs, Onomah on for Dier. Four minutes of stoppage time coming.
88 min: A third change coming for Leicester. And also for Spurs it would seem. No substantial chances for either side since the goal.
86 min: Spurs throwing bodies forward but Leicester shrewdly burning time and keeping it in the Tottenham half as much as possible.
Tottenham 0-1 Leicester City (Huth, 83 min)
Leicester win a corner. It’s sent into the area where it finds the conspicuously unmolested German centre back Robert Huth, who calmly deposits it into the top of the goal with a clinical header. Not sure who was marking him there – rather, who was assigned to be marking him there – but Leicester are within touching distance of a precious three points thanks to the gaffe.
Updated
80 min: A sub for Tottenham, their second, as Son Heung-Min enters for Tom Carroll.
79 min: Dier shown yellow for a clattering challenge on Ulloa. A bit of a lull in the action here. Surely feels like the calm before the store.
77 min: Leicester makes a second sub as Andy King is on for Okazaki.
76 min: A longball from Schmeichel is played into the area and it’s one, two, three point-blank chances for Leicester, all of which deflect off fortuitously placed Tottenham players. How near they came to breaking through there!
75 min: Lamela sprints onto a cross from Walker, beating a lackadaisical Fuchs to the spot, but his one-time volley sails over the crossbar.
74 min: Leicester win a corner and play it short again, a gambit that hasn’t been working for them today. Again, quickly dispossessed. Spurs quick to counter-attack.
71 min: For Leicester, Vardy exits and Leonardo Ulloa comes on. Also, Christian Eriksen exits for Spurs in favor of Mousa Dembele, who is making his 100th Premier League appearance.
70 min: Walker drops it back to Alli to the right of the area, whose cross deflects out for another corner attempt. Erikson takes it but it’s dealt with by Simpson, who clears it easily. Now it appears Leicester will make their first swap of the match.
68 min: A ball is slipped into Lamela after he’s drifted into the area, but it’s swept away by Albrighton. Moments later Spurs win a corner. When the Spurs Go Marching In echoing through White Hart Lane. What an atmosphere.
65 min: Lamela’s effort is out off Vardy and Tottenham will have another go, but after a light fracas outside the area, a free kick is given to Leicester.
Updated
64 min: Both sides really going for it now. Tottenham win a corner.
62 min: Harry Kane is slipped in by Lamela and very nearly makes it 1-0, but is thwarted by the crossbar amid roars from the crowd. I’m talking thisclose. Seems like either side is on the verge of a breakthrough here.
Updated
61 min: A defensive blunder by Walker leaves Vardy all alone with Lloris in the area, but the keeper is magnificent in sprinting off his line to break up the play without fouling the attacker and giving the penalty. Well played.
60 min: One hour in and scoreless still. Tottenham have won a free kick but Lamela’s attempt from distance is cleared by Kante.
58 min: Simpson muscled down from behind by Kane and Leicester will have a free kick from 40 yards or so. Mahrez takes it but it’s deflected wide for a Leicester throw-in.
56 min: Lamela very nearly makes it 1-0! The sequence started with Davis sprinting with the ball up the left side before centering to Lamela, who nearly dumped it into the back of the goal but missed wide. Groans from the crowd. A corner to Tottenham but it’s easily cleared.
Updated
54 min: Eriksen’s free kick is fired squarely into Leicester’s three-man wall and out for a throw-in. A wasteful attempt, that. Particularly given Spurs’ height advantage in the area, which was apparent.
53 min: Kane surging up the right with the ball and fouled from behind by Morgan. The contact appeared incidental but the call is fair. Free kick to Tottenham from a dangerous area.
Updated
52 min: Now it’s a fourth corner in three minutes for Leicester. The ball is sent to the far post, but ultimately cleared. Tottenham now on the counter-attack.
51 min: Leicester plays it short again: Albrighton to Vardy to Okazaki, whose close-range shot is deflected out for yet another corner.
50 min: The corner is played short: Fuchs to Drinkwater, whose right-footed attempt is deflected off a Tottenham player and out for another corner.
49 min: It’s the left-footed Fuchs who takes it, but it’s cracked directly into the wall. Seconds later it’s out past the goal line and Leicester will have a corner.
48 min: Mahrez blows past Kane but Kane drags him down from behind and is rightly whistled for a foul. Leicester with a free kick here.
47 min: The ball is played toward the far post where it falls into a patch of unoccupied space. A gaggle of players close on it quickly but it’s Fuchs whose there first to clear it.
46 min: Another rapid start by Spurs. Alli with a quick run with the ball up the left side, but his cross is deflected out by Simpson. Moments later Tottenham win a corner.
Updated
The players are back out on the pitch. Tottenham set to kick off and get the second half underway.
Half-time: Tottenham 0-0 Leicester City
That’s all for the first half, a taut affair between two evenly matched sides. A quick look at the stat sheet would give the edge to Spurs, yet only one category truly matters at the end of the day.
Tottenham v Leicester City
30min Possession 16min
10 Shots 3
7 Shots on target 1
7 Corners 2
5 Tackles 12
2 Offsides 1
5 Fouls 4
0 Yellow cards 0
0 Red cards 0
45 min: The fourth official signals for one minute of stoppage time. Pace has slowed a bit over the past few minutes.
44 min: Tottenham have kept possession nicely over the last few minutes but haven’t quite figured how to crack the Leicester back four. Walker tries up the right flank but he’s run out past the goal line and possession is returned to the visitors.
41 min: Mahrez hacked down near midfield and Leicester will have a free kick, Albrighton to take it. Easily cleared.
40 min: Another corner for Spurs, Lamela to take it. Morgan tries to head it clear but it winds up going the other way, giving the hosts another crack at it. This one is cleared by Okazaki, but kept in the final third by Eriksen. Tottenham with possession, but they’ve played it back for a moment to reevaulate the situation.
39 min: Vardy ruled offside as Leicester look to attack. Both sides have become a bit sloppy with possession as the tempo has picked up over the past five minutes, yet the crowd appear to be loving it.
36 min: Tottenham pressuring here, a Lamela cross targeting Kane just missing the mark, and from the remains Leicester move rapidly into counter-attack, a hallmark of their charmed campaign. Cracking end-to-end action here even if there haven’t been a whole lot of concrete chances to show for it.
33 min: Lamela with the cross into an onrushing Kane but it’s play too high. Strong, evenly matched stuff from both sides here as half-time approaches.
31 min: Alli tripped by Morgan near the half-way line and Spurs will have a free kick.
30 min: Spurs work it up patiently from the back and, following a speculative shot from distance, win another corner. From there it’s deflected out to Eriksen, whose shot on goal demands Schmeichel’s very best to keep it 0-0.
26 min: And it’s Drinkwater with a well struck volley off a throw-in that very nearly makes it 1-0! Only the outstretched arm of Lloris keeps matters scoreless. Leicester really looking to get forward here.
25 min: Drinkwater hacked down by Eriksen near the front of the Tottenham technical area. A foul is given and Leicester will have a free kick.
23 min: Best chance of the match for Leicester off a brilliant counter-attack. Ball played to Kante surging up the right flank, who centers it to Okazaki in the six-yard box, whose attempt to muscle it into the goal falls flat.
21 min: A foul is given and Leicester will have a free kick from 35 yards. Albrighton’s attempt is curled into the area but it’s corralled without much difficulty by Lloris.
Updated
18 min: Now, this! A Spurs throw-in near mid-field is bottled badly and Leicester suddenly have a chance off a gifted possession. Within seconds the ball is played into the area, where Okazaki’s attempt skids left of the post. What a turn that might have been.
17 min: Leicester showing a bit more attacking verve over the past few minutes, but nothing resembling the sustained attack of Tottenham.
15 min: Ball played wide to Vardy up the left flank, but Walker closes in quickly and the Leicester forward can only watch as the ball veers out for a Spurs goal kick. Well defended, that.
13 min: Eric Dier’s long-distance attempt sails harmlessly over the post, but Spurs have remained fairly relentless early.
12 min: A third corner is finally cleared by Leicester, but Spurs are very quickly on the attack once again. They’re really clicking here even if they’ve nothing yet to show for it.
11 min: Lamela takes the corner and finds Alderweireld, whose header demands a Schmeichel save. Another corner, this one booted past the goal line by a Leicester player.
10 min: Spurs win another corner.
9 min: After nine minutes Leicester have finally brought their attack in the final third. But the spell is brief: after a Spurs tackles forces a throw-in, it’s quickly cleared past the half-way line.
6 min: A surging run up the right side by Eriksen, who picks out Alli in the middle of the pitch and uncorks a shot on goal that skids wide right of the post. More incisive stuff from Spurs early here.
Updated
4 min: Tottenham working it nicely up the left flank. An apparent hand ball by Mahrez prompts roars from the crowd, but play continues as the ref must not have thought it was deliberate. The ball is crossed and played through to Kane, who was offside by inches. A brisk start for the hosts.
2 min: Eriksen breaks free with the ball and has a go on goal from 30 yards but it’s easily corralled by Schmeichel. Moments later Spurs win the first corner of the match.
1 min: And we’re off! Spurs attacking from right to left in traditional home kits, Leicester from left to right in all-blue strips. A truly electric atmosphere here with so much at stake regarding Champions League places. The sides trade possession several times early before Spurs play it backward and begin to build up from the rear.
The players are emerging from the tunnel. John Williams’s Duel of the Fates blasts on the stadium p.a., a White Hart Lane staple. Not much longer now.
These sides are hardly strangers. Next week’s FA Cup replay will mark their seventh meeting in the past two seasons.
Prognostication time. Here’s one via email from presumptive Tottenham supporter Michael:
Most Spurs devotees wanted to lose, what a disaster…now, this game we want to win and handily…4-0 Spurs
Updated
Here’s a look at tonight’s teams. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has left his side unaltered from their last Premier League outing, a 1-1 draw against Everton, while Leicester counterpart Claudio Ranieri has made one change from his team’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, plugging in Shinji Okazaki in place of Leonardo Ulloa.
Tottenham
XI: Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Carroll, Dier, Lamela, Eriksen, Alli, Kane
Subs: Vorm, Rose Trippier, Wimmer, Dembele, Onomah, Son
Leicester City
XI: Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs, Mahrez, Kanté, Drinkwater, Albrighton, Okazaki, Vardy
Subs: Schwarzer, King, Gray, Wasilewski, Inler, Dyer, Ulloa
Hello and welcome to tonight’s Premier League match between Tottenham and Leicester at White Hart Lane. It’s the second time these sides have met in four days, after Spurs’ controversial escape on Saturday in the FA Cup, with a third to come in seven days’ time.
Tottenham, currently sitting fourth with 36 points, will look to move within one point of the second-place Foxes, who can return top with a win. Plenty more to come, including the team information, with kick-off just over a half hour from now.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime why not have a look at Simon Burnton’s match report from the last time these sides met – only four days ago in the FA Cup third round.
This was often frustrating but never less than intriguing, a game of swinging fortunes in which a Leicester side that were, as promised, largely unfamiliar – they made eight changes to their starting XI, one more than Spurs – initially seemed likely to be outplayed but were ultimately unfortunate to be denied victory.
In the 88th minute Danny Rose cut in from the left, thought better of it and jinked outside again. As he did so the ball flicked off Nathan Dyer’s boot and into the air, hitting the Leicester winger’s arm on its way back down. As he spun to track Rose’s run Dyer seemed to have little idea of the ball’s whereabouts and Leicester’s opinion of Robert Madley’s decision was obvious from their furious reaction to it.
“It’s not important what me or my players say, it’s the referee who’s the boss,” said Ranieri. “Of course we’re frustrated because our second half was very good, very calm, and we defended very well. But it’s OK, we’ll play another match and I’m so glad to give another chance to my eight players.”
