Spurs Versus Leicester: 3 Things that Look Promising for the Foxes

          Brendan’s blue army is truly awake and alive! After a very unfortunate loss to Everton at the King Power as a result of poor goalkeeping and bad corner marking, the Foxes were able to produce a masterclass performance away at Spurs that placed them second in the table before Boxing Day. There were many positives to take out of this compelling match, but there were three key points that were truly detrimental to this unexpected result.

      

#1: Wingbacks

          Once again, the wingbacks took on a crucial role for the Foxes. James Justin had another phenomenal game at right-back, winning 72% of his ground duels and providing an exceptional 92% pass accuracy throughout the entire game. Justin was additionally responsible for the amazing through ball that saw James Maddison net a low, right post finish against Lloris, which was later on ruled out by VAR as an alleged millimetric offside. On the left side of the defensive scheme, Timothy Castagne was awarded his long-awaited return to action after his unfortunate hamstring injury during October against Arsenal. The Belgian looked very lively with the ball, providing both energy and comfortability on the ball every time he possessed it. Timothy must be proud of his comeback, as he provided 90% pass accuracy and 4 tackles throughout the course of the match. When asked about the game, Timothy uttered that "it is good to be back, especially with a win here against a very good side. It is great to be back. It feels very good. I have missed it, and when you can play again, it is great," (LCFC).

Down below I have provided the heat maps for both JJ and Tim during this game:

                                    

                                  

#2: A lively James Maddison and a Strong Wilfred Ndidi

          Oh James, Oh James! Where do I start?! Madders undoubtedly balled out in this game, providing a nearly perfect pass accuracy rating of 97% and 5 key passes throughout the game. Madders did not feature too much in the first half due to Spurs’ dominance during the first 45 minutes, but this all changed when the second half commenced. Madders’ talent came to fruition, as he was given the freedom to roam around the pitch and assist both Ndidi and Tielemans in their defensive duties as much as possible. This resulted in Madders generating an amazing creative performance that Brendan must truly be proud of. The England international was nearly recompensated for his creative efforts with a goal after a great through ball provided by JJ at the beginning of the first half, but his strike was invalided by VAR due to a millimetric offside call. If James is competent enough to stay at this level for the next couple of weeks, he will truly ease the Foxes’ wishes of staying in the “Top 4” for as long as possible.

James Maddison celebrating his offside goal against Spurs. Shoutout Chunkz for giving Madders the idea for it 😂.

On the defensive side of the midfield, Ndidi dominated with ease. Providing great defensive prowess during the game and being the backbone of the midfield was no difficulty for Big Wilf, as he registered five clearances, two interceptions, and three key tackles at the completion of the match. Wilf provided great cover in the air meanwhile Spurs tried to launch through balls up top, which disrupted their game plan occasionally. Wilf was also composed passing the ball, not giving up any lose ball opportunities and preventing detrimental mistakes from occurring. It is great to have the Nigerian international back in the team doing what he knows best.

#3: Marc, what are you doing?!

          Marc, where has this form been in the past two years??? Marc Albrighton has had an unexpected resurgence in his work rate and productivity in the last streak of games, which continued on Sunday as well. In terms of the defensive side of Albrighton’s performance against Spurs, Marc was able to press with great intent when needed and won 5 of 7 ground duels, which helped the team immensely on the right side of the field. Offensively, Marc delivered in his customary crosses, one of them resulting in the Jamie Vardy header for the second goal. He also dribbled very freely throughout the match. Most Foxes fans would rather see Turkish star Cengiz Ünder start on the right side of the wing, but we can clearly now note why BR has favored the veteran winger in these last spell of games. Hopefully Marc will keep this form up coming into Boxing Day, but I would rather see Cengiz Ünder get the start against United.