Leicester v Tottenham LIVE: Premier League team news and line-ups as Dominic Solanke starts on Spurs debut

It felt strange that in a season in which Tottenham perhaps struggled as a collective defensively, many of Spurs’ standout individual performers last year were in their back five. A key for Ange Postecoglou this season will be making sure that this unit of Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie start together as much as possible – they really did look a different side when they had that settled quintet fit and firing.

“Keeping them all fit will help,” Postecoglou tells Sky Sports of how he can make defensive improvements this season. “Our record when they were all playing was really good, but we suffered when we didn’t have them. It’s fair to say that we didn’t have a strong enough squad last season. I know when they are out there playing and fit, those issues won’t be as prevalent for us.”

James Maddison returns to the King Power Stadium tonight having left Leicester for Tottenham after their relegation to the Championship last summer.

A bright start to life in London gave way to a frustrating end to the season that saw the creative midfielder struggle for fitness and form, and Maddison was eventually left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.

The emergence of youngster Lucas Bergvall and presence of Dejan Kulusevski, perhaps a better fit in a central role in Ange Postecoglou’s system, means that the 27-year-old is not necessarily a certain Spurs starter this season.

But Postecoglou has backed Maddison to bounce back: “The good thing is he’s fit and he’s laid himself a good opportunity and foundation to have another strong season.

“The disappointment of say missing the Euros, well that’s just again part of being a footballer. We take all the good stuff, but you have setbacks and it’s how you react to those.

“I’m sure he’ll want to sort of go out there and get himself back into the international frame and get back playing for England.”

Steve Cooper is relishing his Premier League return as his Leicester reign begins against Tottenham on Monday.

Cooper is back in the top flight nine months after his sacking at Nottingham Forest, and tonight’s visit of Spurs provides a bit of symmetry for Cooper: it was a 2-0 defeat to Ange Postecoglou’s side in December which proved his final game in charge of Forest.

“I can’t wait to get back,” Cooper said at his pre-match press conference. “I think about the organisation and not myself. It’s always the club first.

“I missed the Premier League, there’s no doubt about that. I didn’t use the time to down tools. That was the last thing I wanted. I tried to use the time wisely to prepare for the next role.

“It’s an exciting challenge here. It’s been a good pre-season while transitioning to being a Premier League team again.”

So a surprise start for Jamie Vardy, with Steve Cooper indicating that his captain might not have been able to feature had this game been on Saturday or Sunday. With Patson Daka out, Leicester did not have a senior alternative striking option in their squad – but just how fit is the veteran centre forward?

Dominic Solanke is straight in from the start on his Tottenham Hotspur debut, in an otherwise familiar-looking Spurs side.

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr; Johnson, Maddison, Son; Solanke.

A curveball from Leicester: Jamie Vardy is fit to start and captains the home side up front. New addition Bobby Decordova-Reid joins him in the front three.

Leicester XI: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Ndidi, Buonanotte; Decordova-Reid, Vardy, Fatawu.

Hopefully we are now all getting used to these slightly earlier team announcements, the Premier League kindly affording us 15 minutes extra to acquaint ourselves with the line-ups this season. Will Dominic Solanke be an immediate starter for Spurs? How will Steve Cooper assemble his forward line in the absence of Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy? We’re not far away from finding out…

He won’t be available for Leicester tonight, but the club have confirmed the completion of their deal to sign Oliver Skipp from Spurs. Skipp will reunite with Harry Winks at the King Power Stadium as two graduates of Tottenham’s academy who never quite delivered on early promise shown at the club, but both feel like shrewd (if samey) signings in consecutive summers for a club seeking to secure their Premier League status.

Overall, this fixture has produced 128 goals in 34 Premier League meetings, giving it the highest average goals per game of any Premier League fixture to have been played more than 20 times – 3.76.

Leicester’s 13 wins against Spurs is their joint-most Premier League victories over one team, and the Foxes are unbeaten in their past five opening day fixtures (W3, D2). 

New manager Steve Cooper’s last Premier League game in charge of a club was Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 defeat by Spurs in December last year.

Meanwhile, Spurs have lost just one of their past eight opening Premier League matches (W5, D2) – a 1-0 defeat by Everton in 2020. Spurs were top of the Premier League after 10 games last year, taking 26 points from a possible 30. 

Ange Postecoglou’s side won maximum points against the three promoted sides last term, but they won just three of their final 13 league away games last season (D4, L6).

Son Heung-min has nine goals and four assists in 14 matches against Leicester, while Solanke could become the first player to score on his Premier League debut for Spurs since Steven Bergwijn against Manchester City in 2020.

Tonight will be the 121st meeting between these two sides, with the first dating back to 1914. Spurs have won 61 overall, with 21 ending as draws and 38 ending in a Leicester victory.

The two sides last met in the 2022/23 Premier League season, and though Leicester were relegated that season, the Foxes escaped with a 4-1 home win in their home match against Spurs.

Spurs have won seven of their last 10 matches against Leicester, including a 6-2 win the last time they played the Foxes at home, and a famous 3-2 win in January 2022 courtesy of late goals from Steven Bergwijn.

The last two matches between these sides have produced 28 goals, so we could be in for a cracker tonight.