Early pacesetters across the first quarter of the campaign, Jose Mourinho's Spurs have ground to a shuddering halt, with two points taken from their last possible 12. Today is a must-win for their silverware hopes.
Marcelo Bielsa's Whites have emerged as the neutral's favourite this term for their all-or-nothing approach to games - and three wins in their last four has set them well on their way to avoiding a possible relegation battle.
But it has been a week of difficult off-field fortunes for both. Spurs were left in the lurch at short notice thanks to Fulham's last-hour Covid-19 cancellation and Leeds have been under fire for triggering a social media storm. They'll want to do their talking on the pitch today.
Toby Alderweireld and Steven Bergwijn are the two new faces for the hosts following their draw with Wolves last time out. Unsurprisingly, the visitors make no change after robustly hammering West Brom.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Matt Doherty, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Ben Davies; Harry Winks, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg; Steven Bergwijn, Tanguy Ndombele, Son Heung-min; Harry Kane.
Subs: Sergio Reguilon, Joe Hart, Joe Rodon, Moussa Sissoko, Dele Alli, Japhet Tanganga, Lucas Moura, Gedson Fernandes, Carlos Vinicius.
LEEDS UNITED (4-1-4-1): Illan Meslier; Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling, Pascal Struijk, Ezgjan Alioski; Kalvin Phillips; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Mateusz Klich, Jack Harrison; Patrick Bamford.
Subs: Ian Poveda, Kiko Casilla, Helder Costa, Pablo Hernandez, Charlie Cresswell, Jamie Shackleton, Jack Jenkins, Oliver Casey, Niall Huggins.
That pandemic-enforced postponement with Fulham is the last thing Tottenham need in a jam-packed schedule. They have an EFL Cup semi-final with Brentford looming, plus FA Cup and Europa League commitments. They're pretty much wall-to-wall right now.
That hectic campaign so far means Gareth Bale is conspicuously absent for the Whites' visit. The Wales international is not the only countryman AWOL however; Leeds are lacking his occasional strike partner Tyler Roberts too.
[Watch Highlights ##eye##]
It's just under eight years since these two sides last met, when Leeds delivered a 2-1 upset in the FA Cup fourth round thanks to goals from Ross McCormack and Luke Varney. There's no matchday survivors, though Bale did start back then for Spurs.
COMMENTS