Leicester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur Expert Pick and Prediction – August 19, 2024

LEICESTER CITY VS. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – August 19, 2024 — Returning to the Premier League is supposed to be a cause for celebration and unabashed joy. For Leicester City, it’s more like a brief reprieve from the impending Sword of Damocles hanging over the club.

That’s because Leicester City badly breached financial fair play rules over the past few seasons, and penalties in England are much stiffer than what exist in American sports leagues. In the NFL, a team might pay a fine or lose a draft pick. In the Premier League, Leicester stares at the possibility of starting the season on negative-10 points or even worse. Basically, it’s the equivalent of an NFL team being told that their first three wins of the season won’t count. And unlike American sports, there’s no incentive to lose, because the bottom three are booted from the Premier League.

So these aren’t sunny times at the King Power Stadium, and Leicester hasn’t spent much to improve its team. That’s understandable, given that the Foxes are spooked by their potential penalties, but it’s left them woefully unprepared for Tottenham.

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And this is an ambitious Tottenham side that didn’t like how last season ended. Spurs could have and should have made the Champions League last year, but four losses in their final six matches allowed Aston Villa to beat them to fourth. This is a match where Spurs have every incentive to push for a big number against a side that’s in a flux.

Kickoff

Teams: Leicester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur

When: Monday, August 19 at 3 p.m. EST

Where: King Power Stadium, Leicester, United Kingdom

TV: USA Network

Spread: Leicester City +0.5/Tottenham -0.5

Moneyline: Leicester City +350/Tottenham -140/Draw +310

Totals: Over 2.5 (-175)/Under 2.5 (+140)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of August 19th, 2024 

Scouting Leicester City

Lost their coach? Check. Lost one of their top attackers? Check. No major moves in the offseason? Check and mate. Basically, everything that a side coming up from the Championship doesn’t want in its first Premier League season is true for Leicester. And they’ve got to adjust on the fly to competing with teams that spend like the New York Yankees and actually have the wallets to match.

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There’s a reason that Leicester are the odds-on favorite to go straight back down to the Championship. This is a Championship-level side without the ability to get new talent. They probably have the best manager for the job in Steve Cooper, who expertly guided Nottingham Forest to safety, but it will take time for Cooper to get his system in place. One match isn’t going to do it.

Scouting Tottenham

The verdict is in: Son Heung-Min is capable of being the main man in north London. The Korean star was long Pippen to Harry Kane’s Jordan, but when Kane left for Bayern Munich, Son became the guy for Spurs. All he did was lead the team with 17 goals as part of a fifth-place finish. But that’s not enough for Spurs, so they got Son some help in the person of Dominic Solanke. Solanke was a key part of Bournemouth’s attack last year, and he should slide in well as the No. 2 option at Spurs.

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The defense is still a worry, and Spurs know it. That’s why they’re pursuing Brazilian defender Vanderson to shore things up at the back. But the deal is still to be completed, so Spurs will start the year with a less-than stellar back line.

Best Bets

Tottenham -1.5 (+170): Like with Manchester City on Sunday, this is a spot where getting aggressive is the right move. Tottenham have won four of the past five meetings with Leicester, and three were by at least two goals. Spurs have a big edge with Leicester in transition, and the pairing of Son and Solanke will be excited to open their accounts for 2024.

Spurs and BTTS (+175): Spurs still cannot play defense. Out of the final 11 matches last year, Spurs kept a clean sheet just once. That was against Sheffield United, which scored just 35 goals and finished dead last. Leicester still should have enough value to push for one marker.

Tottenham 3-1 (+950): Spurs are easily the stronger side and should be comfortable winners here. Look for them to press their quality as Leicester struggles to figure out which pieces go where. A fourth goal is a possibility, but the new pairing up front likely won’t jell quite that fast.