'Spurs Will Be Really Wary Of Leicester'

- Tottenham Hotspur visit King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Saturday (12:30pm BST kick-off)
- Both sides go into the fixture with eight points from their first five Premier League fixtures
- Dan Kilpatrick believes Spurs will be 'wary' of City's threats on Filbert Way
- Live coverage begins at 9:30am BST on LCFC Radio, available for free online 

The two sides are locked on eight points following the opening five matches of the new Premier League campaign, although third-place Spurs hold a slim advantage on goal difference. 

While City have been able to dedicate a full week to their preparations for Saturday's 12:30pm BST kick-off, Mauricio Pochettino's men were in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday.

Despite Harry Kane and Lucas Moura firing Spurs into a two-goal lead in Athens, Olympiacos hit back to seal a 2-2 draw, the second time in three games such an advantage has been lost.

However, Kilpatrick, who follows Tottenham's progress closely, believes there will be no 'European hangover' for the London outfit when they visit the East Midlands this weekend.

"I think Spurs are now experienced enough to deal with playing in the Champions League in midweek," he told LCFC.com. "When they first got into the competition, they struggled a little bit, but they’ve tended to be fine in the last couple of years. 

"Worryingly, the performance in that game in Greece felt like a step backwards after the display against Crystal Palace (a 4-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium), where they looked back to their best. 

"It was sluggish in Greece and it felt like in the games which preceded the Palace match, they weren’t up to speed yet.

"Obviously, they’ll want to make a strong recovery, given that Pochettino and Kane have both come out and quite firmly criticised their performance and that’ll be on their mind.

"I expect Pochettino will freshen things up as well. It’s a quick turnaround, but I like to think that Spurs are experienced enough not to suffer a Champions League hangover. 

"The outlier is really the Palace game, where they played very well. They looked back to their old selves, going forward with pace, and they were decisive in the final third as well. 

"Really, in the rest of the games, they’ve been below par and they’ve looked a work in progress. It’s been a little bit like they’re still in pre-season almost. 

"That said, they’ve shown their abilities to get results. They got draws at Arsenal, Manchester City and Olympiacos, which are all, in their own different ways, really tough places to go.

"So, actually, you could make the case that Spurs have become a side which can get results without actually playing well, but the worry is the performances.

"It’s been a really mixed start to the season, but in terms of points on the board, both in the league and the Champions League, it’s definitely better than the fixtures last year."

With Leicester currently occupying a place in the Premier League's top-six, Kilpatrick believes Spurs may approach the clash with a sense of wariness about Brendan Rodgers' men.

Like their visitors, the Foxes have won two, drawn two and lost just one of their opening fixtures in 2019/20 and have already impressed many with their performances. 

"Spurs will be really wary of Leicester," he continued. "Obviously, there’s a bit of a grudge that has developed between the two since the title race in 2016. 

"The fact that Brendan Rodgers is now at Leicester, the squad they have, makes them a real threat to the sides in the top-six like Spurs. 

"I think Spurs will be viewing it thinking: ‘Back off, stay off our turf’. That’s certainly the way the supporters will be looking at it and there will be an element of that as well.

"I was thinking about Dele Alli this morning and the way James Maddison is putting his England place under threat.

"You could say that exemplifies the power dynamic between the two clubs in a way. Spurs will be hoping to exert their authority over Leicester, but it will be really, really tough."