With the Arsenal-Tottenham rivalry still as bitter as ever, a chunk of Lilywhites fans happily relinquished their hopes of watching their side play Champions League football in 2024-25 at the expense of the Gunners’ title dream, as a 2-0 home loss to Manchester City in the closing stages of the campaign proved telling on two fronts.
After an apoplectic Ange Postecoglou ranted and raved about supporters siding against their team, Spurs still wound up in a respectable fifth position to earn direct entry into the Europa League, but there was a palpable sense of what could have been for the North London crop.
No manager had ever taken more than 25 points in their first 10 Premier League games before Postecoglou hit the 26-mark, but as injuries and inconsistency began to take its toll, Tottenham spent most of the campaign hovering on the periphery of their title-chasing rivals.
Nevertheless, Postecoglou always insisted that a top-four finish was never the priority for his first campaign in charge – rather serious signs of progression – and a praiseworthy start to pre-season saw Tottenham put all of Hearts, Queens Park Rangers, Vissel Kobe and Team K-League to the sword.
However, two defeats against two Bayern Munich sides – the latter of which featured departed top scorer Harry Kane – disrupted Spurs’ summer momentum, but only one of the visitors’ last eight opening-day contests in the Premier League has seen them come out on the wrong end of the scoreline.
As Postecoglou prepares for season number two at the Tottenham helm, Monday’s match will mark a maiden competitive game for Steve Cooper as Leicester head coach, after 2023-24 title-winning boss Enzo Maresca could not resist the pull of a long-term Chelsea contract.
Some members of the King Power faithful became disenchanted with Maresca’s style towards the end of his reign anyway, as after leading the Championship back for months on end, a downturn in form plunged Leicester’s automatic promotion hopes into serious jeopardy.
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However, the 2015-16 Premier League winners ultimately survived that late scare to pip Leeds United and Ipswich Town to the crown, finishing with 97 points on the board to jump back up to the big time at the first time of asking, before swapping Maresca with ex-Nottingham Forest boss Cooper.
Like Postecoglou, the Leicester coach also oversaw a strong start to pre-season – wins over Villarreal and Shrewsbury Town – before three straight losses to Palermo, Augsburg and Lens, and the threat of a potential points deduction for alleged financial breaches is also a highly unwelcome distraction.
Leicester are not expected to learn their possible punishment fate until 2025, though, and full focus now turns to Monday’s reunion with Tottenham, whom they memorably demolished 4-1 at the King Power during their most recent showdown in February 2023.
