Leicester v Tottenham

While it was our opponents who requested the postponement on two of those three occasions, such has been our misfortune with injuries and illness that any casual observer would be forgiven for assuming it was Leicester who couldn’t fulfil all three matches.

The cards have certainly been stacked against Brendan Rodgers almost all season long, but boy has the Foxes manager played his hand to perfection in recent weeks – and particularly in our only outing of 2022.

Rodgers had just eight senior players available for the third round of the FA Cup a week and a half ago and had to bolster his matchday squad with no fewer than ten academy products. Even then he was still unable to fill the substitutes’ bench.

Injuries to Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka along with Kelechi Iheanacho’s Africa Cup of Nations call-up meant Rodgers wasn’t able to select a single first-team striker. Jannik Vestergaard was the only one of 11 senior defenders available. In central midfield, Boubakary Soumare and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were injured and Wilfred Ndidi was also away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

The Foxes And The FA Cup

In the circumstances, it would have been testing enough had Leicester been lucky enough to draw a non-league opponent in the early stages of the FA Cup. Needless to say, Leicester drew Watford – one of only three all-Premier League ties in the third round. And while the Hornets may not have arrived in the best of form, the Watford players who featured at the King Power Stadium boasted over 300 international caps between them – these opponents would have been no walkover even for a fully-fit Foxes squad.

But the performance from the threadbare Foxes can only encourage supporters, with the attitude and defiance shown once again proving absolutely first class. The quality was just as impressive as the remaining first-team players stepped up in style while the academy players demonstrated impressive maturity and composure to help earn a dominant 4-1 victory over Watford.

Leicester’s reaction to adversity in recent matches has been hugely reassuring, particularly because the injury crisis coincided with a tough run of fixtures that many pundits were expecting might break the Foxes’ resolve. But Rodgers’ men have risen to the challenge and in our last five games we have thrashed Newcastle 4-0 in the Premier League, outclassed Watford in the FA Cup, beaten title-chasing Liverpool in the league and scored three goals away at both Manchester City in the Premier League and Liverpool in the EFL Cup.

We didn’t get the results we wanted at the Etihad Stadium or Anfield but, given the circumstances, scoring three goals in both of those matches was some achievement in itself. It’s worth noting that Manchester City are the only other team to have scored more than two goals away at Anfield in Liverpool’s last 38 home games. And, prior to us scoring three times at the Etihad last month, Manchester City had conceded more than two goals on only one occasion in their last 56 Premier League home games – and that one occasion was to Leicester in September 2020.

A return of three important victories and two impressive performances – albeit in defeat – is a run of form that should hearten Leicester supporters given the selection headaches that Rodgers had to endure for that five-match spell. And Wednesday night’s meeting with Tottenham gives the Foxes a chance to build on that promise as Rodgers has been boosted by the return of several important players. Patson Daka, Caglar Soyuncu, Luke Thomas and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should all be back, bolstering the squad to the point that pretty much every position has at least one first-team option.

Antonio Conte's Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham are not without their own injury and illness problems and have issues at both ends of the pitch. Up front, Harry Kane has been out of sorts all season, scoring just four Premier League goals in 17 appearances. And the only Spurs player to have scored more goals this season than Kane, Son Heung-Min, is out injured. In defence they look likely to be without main man Eric Dier and big-money summer signing Cristian Romero as well as left back Sergio Reguilon.

Even without all four of those players, Tottenham, who have yet to lose a league game under Antonio Conte, will still present a massive test for the Foxes. However, there is plenty to be optimistic about from a Leicester perspective and it may well prove that we emerge from this unfortunate run of injuries and absences with some unexpected positives to take from it.

The going has been tough but results are holding up and the period of adversity could be the making of many Leicester players. In the absence of so many established names, others are stepping up to show that they can be relied on to lead the team; forging their position as senior squad members. Youngsters drafted in as emergency cover are taking their chance, showcasing their talent, accelerating their development and in many cases proving themselves ready for first-team football. It may have been a harsh winter for the Foxes but their labours in recent weeks seem likely to provide more positives than negatives. This run has not been the breaking of the Leicester squad – it may yet prove the making of it.

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The author has no affiliation with either club. All opinions are the author’s only.