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 It would seem that there is very little that much-criticised Tottenham boss George Graham can do right at the moment. Despite his team remaining unbeaten at home in the Premiership, the former Arsenal boss has been the centre of the Spurs' travelling contingent's wrath as the Lilywhites have lost six out of seven on the road.
In a repeat of the 1998-99 Worthington Cup final, under-fire Spurs boss George Graham would no doubt settle for a recap of the 1-0 scoreline that won Tottenham their last trophy as Leicester travel south to White Hart Lane for this Premiership clash.
A lot has changed since these two teams met at Wembley - not least the start of the famous stadium's makeover - but expect Leicester to be as resolute as ever, with Peter Taylor's men attempting to curtail the Londoners' unbeaten home record in the league.
Ironically enough, the only match that Spurs have lost in front of their own fans this season was in the Worthington Cup, bowing out 3-0 to first division Birmingham City. It has been this sort of result that has piled pressure on Graham and chairman Alan Sugar, and calls for their heads were still audible on Sunday despite Tottenham beating Liverpool 2-1.
For the Midlanders, Premiership life has been a stroll compared to Tottenham's stumble, and Taylor finds his predominantly English XI up in the giddy heights of third place. At this rate, the Foxes will not even need to win trophies to qualify for Europe!
History dictates that this will be a close contest as just one goal has separated Spurs and Leicester in four out of their last five matches. The Foxes won that game 2-0 at White Hart Lane in 1998-99 - the match directly after the Worthington Cup Final.
All the signs point to a hard-fought encounter on Saturday, given that Tottenham's main weakness is unlikely to be fully exploited by Leicester. Graham's men have conceded 21 goals this season - well down on the Premiership average - but the Foxes have only scored at the modest rate of one goal per game.
It's been a slow start to the careers of Ade Akinbiyi and Trevor Benjamin in Leicester shirts since arriving over the summer, and the Midlanders as a team have fired in fewer efforts on goal (114) than any other Premiership side bar Coventry City.
However, when Leicester do manage to fire in shots on goal, they are actually far more effective than Tottenham. Taylor's youthful outfit have scored with 12% of their total efforts - one percentage point more than Spurs - while they have tested the 'keeper with an excellent 52% and only Charlton, Arsenal and Everton have fared better.
 Both sides are fairly well matched in most other areas of the pitch. Spurs and Leicester share identical passing and tackling success rates, which only adds to the general feeling that this should be a close game. With Tottenham unbeaten at home and the Foxes unbeaten in four, a 1-1 draw is available at 11/2 with online bookmakers SpursBET.com.
Phill Othen
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- Tottenham.doc