Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham have only picked up one point from their past six league games but that is still better than Leicester, who have now lost seven in a row.

Things are becoming increasingly desperate at Spurs, too. Ange Postecoglou seems to be getting a lot of backing from above, but this is an enormous game for him.

They are missing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven at the back but there is still an argument that the players who have come in should be doing better than they are.

That's the way I feel anyway - I look at the Tottenham team and they should not be trailing by three goals, going on five or six, at half-time against Everton.

I think you can lose certain games as an under-pressure manager, but not others. I was worried for Postecoglou when Spurs went three goals down because of the pressure that losing to another struggling team would put on him.

The same applies here. Lose this and he's in deep trouble.

I love watching Ange's teams play, I have got a lot of time for him and he has been really unfortunate with a few things, but if Spurs are beaten at home by Leicester then things could get pretty ugly even if they are still in both domestic cups and the Europa League.

I don't think that will happen though. These two sides drew 1-1 on the opening day but this time I am backing Spurs to win comfortably.

Sutton's prediction: 4-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Former Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown believes his former side have the talent to end their poor run of form under Ange Postecoglou despite an injury crisis at the club.

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At the beginning of a season, players set goals and long-term team objectives goals are spoken about. It doesn't matter whether it's survival, a trophy or top six - there are always visions.

When you are not meeting those targets, it is difficult to keep believing that you will achieve them.

Both Spurs and United will be disappointed in their season so far but also in how they have fought. Pride is so important and it is something that has always been there in the teams I've played in. Even if you lose motivation as a player, you should always have individual pride to play for.

The bare minimum you expect from these players is effort because they are playing at such big clubs. In United's case, that was there against Liverpool and Arsenal but there was less of it against Southampton and Brighton.

That is their biggest difficulty because you need everyone to be motivated and sometimes when things are not going well, one or two players can lose it and give up. That does not help the collective.

It is hard to pull people with you when there are only a few of you that are still motivated and driven to do better.

Results and momentum help confidence and belief to come back, which in turn re-motivates players. There are still enough league games to achieve this and a few wins can soon carry them up the table.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

When it comes to Premier League form, both Tottenham and Leicester are in the bottom three. The Foxes have lost seven consecutive league games, while Spurs are without a win in six.

With both teams in desperate need of three points, it sets up for an intriguing battle at Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday.

While the two sides go head-to-head on the pitch, we asked our fan writers for each club to go head-to-head off it.

Each got to ask three questions of the other. Tottenham fan Anna Howells from Spurs XY, external was asked the following by our Leicester supporter:

• What has been the key reason for Spurs' inconsistency this season?

• Do you think Ange Postecoglou should stay or go?

• What is your Achilles heel? Where are most teams having the most success against you?

Leicester fan contributor Kate Blakemore from Leicester Till I Die, external was given the following questions:

• I am sure many Tottenham fans would like to know how the moves to Leicester have worked out for Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp?

• Are Leicester fans still happy with the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy?

• Apart from getting some wins (relatable for Spurs fans), what are the key issues that need to be solved if Leicester are to avoid relegation?

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There have been 130 goals in 35 Premier League meetings between Tottenham and Leicester, the highest goals-per-game ratio of any fixture to have been played at least 30 times (3.71).

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at home against Leicester (14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Postecoglou said "nothing has changed in the past 24 hours" after striker Dominic Solanke was ruled out for "around six weeks" with a knee injury, with "nothing imminent" in terms of signing a replacement.

• He added that Djed Spence is "still sore" and he and Pape Sarr are both "a doubt", while Sergio Reguilon "should be OK" for Sunday.

• On Richarlison: "As fit as he could possibly be. We're managing his minutes at the moment. He's not played for a long time so he won't be at his sharpest, but the reality is unless something changes he has to play."

• He was pleased with Thursday's Europa League win at Hoffenheim with just 13 first-team players fit: "Very proud. Outstanding effort by the players. Really important game for us in the European context. Thought the lads gave everything. Young players were outstanding. Really pleased with the outcome."

• Spurs' injury crisis is getting harder to manage: "It's not about me, it's about the players. It is getting increasingly difficult for them to maintain performance. We should have some light at the end of the tunnel in the next couple of weeks. At the same time, there is always the possibility that before the guys come back we lose a couple who are here. That's the challenging bit."

• However, Postecoglou is happy with how his squad have coped: "It's been two months of hard grind for the players and we are just trying to help them as much as we can. They are working so hard in between games to stay fit. The resilience and the determination of the players to still get out there and perform is a fantastic thing for me to witness. I couldn't be prouder of them."

• His young players have stepped up: "Irrespective of the difficulties we have had in the past couple of months, we will definitely benefit from the growth of our younger players. We just have to be careful with them. There's no doubt we will get benefits for many years to come."

• On captain Son Heung-min: "He's an outstanding player, outstanding person. He's had to grind his way through he past couple of months. We're asking him to play a hell of a lot and as attacking players it's always more difficult."

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Tottenham v Leicester at 14:00 on Sunday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Europa League game between Hoffenheim and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Geoff: Great going forward, horrible at the back and completely ran out of steam. A win was critical and puts us in a great position to avoid extra play-off games. Scary having to rely just on school kids from the bench, though, and if there aren't two or three first-team level signings in the next week, this might be as good as it gets.

Silvia: It seems the same conversation after every game. We have one good half and one appalling half. We play well when we pass quickly and with purpose but then look vulnerable at the back when under any type of pressure. You could say the same things about 90% of Spurs games this season.

Grahame: I still believe in Ange Postecoglou. With 14 first-team players out, it's outstanding. When we get a lot of them back, we will have good chances in the cups.

Pindos: Not sure how to celebrate a win these days, but typical Spurs having us on the edge of our seats to the end as per usual. We need three points Sunday but already I'm fearing Leicester. Archie Gray is already a future Spurs captain in the making.

Michael: Close, but that will do. Knockouts with a squad of injured players - not so bad! £100m from Mr Levy would help if we want anything more than mid-table.

Eric: Tottenham were a shadow of a team. No idea how to defend. Kept giving ball away - disgrace.

This Premier League pursuit becomes a lot easier if you take your chances.

BBC Sport has checked in on some data comparing goals versus expected goals this season.

You can see from the bar graph some teams aren't finding the goals (yellow) to outstrip the expected goals they should score (black).

Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brentford, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Leicester have all scored more than expected.

Wolves in particular have found the net 32 times from an expected 23.56 - a significant overperformance.

League leaders Liverpool are pretty much bang on in returning what they should, while Arsenal have outperformed, with 43 goals from an expected 37.78.

Bournemouth - 36 goals from an expected 43 - are leaving opportunities on the table.

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, speaking to TNT Sports: "It's not easy to get away wins in Europe. I was watching the Champions League last night and there was only one away victory so it's tough.

"Credit to the boys, I thought they were outstanding first half and played really well. We looked a bit tired in the second half but hung on. Sonny [Son Heung-Min] scored a great goal to give us that extra buffer. We had the school boys out there in the end.

"We wanted to be a bit more aggressive and that is when Madders [James Maddison] is at his best. In the context of the game, we kind of knew if we could score early and put some pressure on them then it would give us a good foothold in the game. He was good all night but got a bit tired in the second half but he caused them a lot of problems."

"I thought the senior boys today all really stood up. You need your leaders to stand up and they did tonight.

"I told them to enjoy it. Winning away in Europe, it's a significant victory for us and gives us a good foothold to get into those top eight spots which will give us a week off. They enjoyed tonight, we'll recover and get ready for Sunday.

"It's a great position to be in, we want to finish top eight because it gives us an extra week of rest and we'll probably need it around that time."

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min has scored 10 or more goals across all competitions in each of the past nine seasons, becoming the only Premier League player to have done so in each campaign since 2016-17.

By scoring his 25th and 26th goals in major European competition for Tottenham Hotspur tonight, Son also became only the second Spurs player to score 25 or more goals for the club in Europe. Only Harry Kane has scored more goals in major European competition than him for the club (36).

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Son Heung-min hasn't been at his best this season but when Tottenham needed him against Hoffenheim on Thursday he stepped up.

His two goals helped ensure the defensive fragility that has caught them out in games in the past did not come to haunt them this time.

There was a large element of fortune about Son's first as it deflected off a defender and looped over the goalkeeper, but his second was a quality finish when Tottenham were under increasing pressure.

A 2-0 goal advantage never guarantees a win for Tottenham and while this 3-2 victory was closer than it should have been, allowances certainly have to be made for the huge injury list Spurs are contending with.

They have 14 players out currently, so to get this win that puts them on the cusps of the Europa League knockouts should provide a much-needed platform for them to build on.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Tottenham's performance

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

Two English teams are taking part in the Europa League on Thursday.

• Hoffenheim v Tottenham - kick-off 17:45 GMT

• Manchester United v Rangers - kick-off 20:00 GMT - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Premier League managers often cite their injury concerns in news conferences and still field a starting XI that remains rather strong.

However, for Ange Postecoglou, he could form a pretty decent team with the players has missing.

Before Thursday's Europa League game against Hoffenheim, BBC Sport put together a Spurs XI of unavailable players.

Ten are injured, while Djed Spence (who makes the XI) as well as goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and Sergio Reguilon are not registered for the Europa League.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game at Hoffenheim (kick-off 17:45 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pape Matar Sarr is not available for the match after picking up "a slight knock from the weekend". However, Rodrigo Bentancur should be fit to return.

• He also confirmed defender Cristian Romero has been back in training but has not travelled with the squad because he could be another "week to 10 days" away.

• On the possibility of Tottenham not signing anybody this window: "Potentially. The club is working hard to get some help for the players. As far as I'm aware, there's nothing imminent, but in the last week of the window things happen quickly."

• The Spurs boss said the "reality is, we don't have a lot of choice" about rotating players as they only have "about 13 first-team players who have travelled" to Germany and does not want to just throw "untried youngsters in there".

• On whether cup games have resulted in players taking their eyes off the Premier League: "No. The players are giving everything every game. This has been a good, solid two months of us relying on a small group of players for every competition. It's great to be in all competitions, but it has a toll. The players are giving everything every game - they are not prioritising anything."

• Postecoglou said it is "not manageable" to keep a squad strong and healthy when competing in so many competitions: "All these things take their toll. People may look at us and think it's unique. It is very extreme case, for sure, but I don't think it will be as uncommon as people think as we move forwards. There are warning signs there for others."

• On whether this is a lesson for the club in recruitment: "Squad numbers will stay the same. If the number of games are increasing then squad sizes should be increasing - that is my belief. It doesn't matter how many, or what strategies you have in place."

• He added: "The calendar has really ramped up in the past couple of seasons and there is going to be some issues we need to deal with if the game keeps changing this quickly."