Tottenham Hotspur vs Leeds United: prediction, preview, team news and more

Tottenham host the exciting Leeds United as they look to end their four-game winless run in the Premier League and start the New Year on the right note.

Tottenham Hotspur welcome Leeds United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Jose Mourinho’s men endured a difficult end to the year in the Premier League, slipping down from first place to seventh after taking just two points from a possible 12.

Jose Mourinho’s side have slipped to seventh place in the Premier League table and are experiencing a bit of a rut. Their last win was against old foes Arsenal at the start of December.

Last time out, Spurs failed to maintain their 1-0 lead against Wolverhampton Wanderers, as Romain Saiss’ goal in the 86th minute denied the London giants.

Leeds United, on the contrary, continue to surprise and entertain the Premier League faithful with their blistering, fearless brand of football.

A 5-0 rout of West Brom away from home, which saw some of the finest goals scored this season, underpinned what they have been all about.

Key stats:

Leeds are Harry Kane’s 30th Premier League opposition. The Spurs striker has scored against all the other 29 sides he has faced, which makes him the only player to have scored against all the opponents he’s played against.
Jose Mourinho has only lost one of his 27 Premier League home games versus newly-promoted sides, losing only against Bournemouth when he was at Chelsea in December 2015.
This is Mourinho’s first encounter versus Leeds in his career in England. He has won all four of his clashes with Marcelo Bielsa leading with an aggregate of 15-2 from their time in Spain.
Leeds have won four of their eight away league games this season which is already more than the number of games they won in their previous Premier League season in 2003/04.
This is the first clash between Tottenham and Leeds United since 2013 when they met in the FA Cup.
Leeds United’s Premier League games this season have averaged 3.75 goals per game.
Leeds have seen four of their last six games feature four or more goals.
Tottenham have scored at least two goals in eight of their last nine competitive home games.

The teams have not met in the league since 2003-04, a season in which Spurs did the double over Leeds.

Spurs and Leeds hold a fairly-balanced record against each other. The North Londoners are slightly ahead with 36 wins as opposed to Leeds’ 32, while 29 games have been drawn.

Spurs lost this tie in the FA Cup seven years ago, when Leeds pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory.

Tottenham are unbeaten on the last four occasions that they have hosted Leeds (W3, D1).

Leeds often lose the ball cheaply in their own defensive third and those giveaways could hurt them against a side like Tottenham who know how to take their chances. Manchester United hurt Leeds similarly a fortnight ago. And Tottenham should be able to break their run of bad results and deliver a win on their home turf this weekend.

This game should be played at a high tempo, with little sideways passing. Leeds will hope to replicate their typical attacking flair, while the hosts may sit back for a few stages during the game.

Tottenham’s superior man-marking and defensive discipline will help them to secure victory.

Our Prediction: Tottenham to win @ 1.76