As league football takes a break for the weekend, it's substituted with the Emirates FA Cup. In one of only three all-Premier League ties, Leicester City go to North London in the hope of securing a place in the Fourth Round.
They come up against a red-hot Tottenham Hotspur side who have really shown their capabilities in recent weeks. Spurs see themselves sitting fourth in the Premier League after putting together a decent string of results, whilst Leicester are still hanging to second place after failing to score in their last three.
The Magic of the Cup
In last season's competition, Leicester progressed further of both teams after knocking out Sunday's opponents in the Fourth Round.
This came after the hosts took an early lead through an Andros Townsend penalty. It looked destined to end in a Spurs victory until Leonardo Ulloa levelled it up in the 83rd minute. A replay looked on the cards until Jeff Schlupp's scuffed shot was fumbled over the line by Michel Vorm.
Leicester were drawn away at Aston Villa in the next round, giving them a good chance of progressing to the quarter-final. However, a very poor display ended with Villa coming out as 2-1 victors. The first half ended goalless and it wasn't until there was just over half an hour to go when we saw the first goal. A Leandro Bacuna drive saw the home side take the lead before Scott Sinclair doubled their advantage in the 89th minute. Andrej Kramaric reduced the deficit in the dying moments but it turned out to be no more than a consolation goal.
While the Foxes have appeared in five FA Cup Finals, they're also the team to have appeared in the most finals without winning the famous trophy. One of those defeats came against a certain Tottenham Hotspur in 1961. On that day, Spurs came out 2-0 winners after goals from Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson. Leicester will hope for the result to be very different on Sunday afternoon and after all but securing Premier League survival, Claudio Ranieri might fancy a cup run.
Defence - Attack
Whilst Tottenham have one of the country's strongest defences at the current time, it won't be easy for Leicester to penetrate that, especially without the threat of Jamie Vardy. The England international is out for this one after having minor groin surgery in the week. With Riyad Mahrez likely to be rested, Leicester will certainly struggle for goals seeing as the pair have scored 28 of Leicester's 37 league goals.
They come up against a very strong defence, Tottenham have conceded the least goals in the Premier League with only 16. However, with most of their best attacking players being rested, Spurs might struggle to break through the Foxes defence.
Team News
Both teams are expected to make wholesale changes, in order to stay fresh for league fixture on Wednesday. Both teams have an obvious priority over the league but both have the potential to go on a cup run. However, if they were to do so, it might jeopardise a European place for Leicester and a possible go at the title for Tottenham.
There's no new injury news for Leicester except the absence of Vardy, who wouldn't have been expected to play anyway. Schlupp and Matty James are still unavailable, although the latter completed a good 90 minutes in a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. New signing, Demarai Gray, is in line to make his first appearance for the Foxes after his £3.75 million sale from Birmingham.
Tottenham are without midfield pair Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason for the clash. Clinton N'Jie is also unavailable due to a knee injury. Young talent, Alex Pritchard, has returned after his four-month injury, however, won't be rushed back into action due to a shortness of match fitness.
Predicted Line-Ups
Tottenham Hotspur - Lloris, Trippier, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Davies; Carroll, Bentaleb; Chadli, Alli, Son; Kane
Leicester City - Schwarzer, De Laet, Wasilewski, Benalouane, Chilwell; Gray, King, Drinkwater, Dyer; Ulloa, Okazaki
