Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta has no issues with the club's refusal to sell him this past transfer window.

Mateta had a strong second half of the season at Palace, and was a key performer for Oliver Glasner.

The striker subsequently helped France win gold at the Paris Olympics.

Mateta was, however, open to leaving Palace over the summer, though with the club having rejected interest, the 27-year-old is happy to put thoughts on his future to one side.

In an interview with L'Equipe, he said: "I'm a realistic person: the club didn't want to sell me.

"Well, I'm moving on and I'm doing everything so that the team obtains better results than last year. And when it's time to ask ourselves these kinds of questions [about the future], we will ask ourselves.

"In football, you have to adapt quickly, concentrate on the upcoming deadlines and not dwell on the past."

Palace face Leicester City on Saturday, and while the Eagles have only picked up one point from their three Premier League matches so far, Mateta has full confidence Glasner's team are worthy opponents for any team.

He said: "The coach sees, as [France Olympics coach Thierry] Henry did, that I'm trying to pull everyone up, because I work hard, I encourage everyone to do the same and I constantly repeat that we can beat anyone: City, Liverpool… anyone! Anyone!

"I only had a few days of rest between the Olympics final and the resumption of the Premier League, and Glasner asks us to chase the opposing teams high, it's very different from the game we played with France at the Olympics, because we had the ball."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace - Jean-Philippe Mateta

Mateta has made more targeted runs into the box than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (14). However, he is yet to open his account for 2024-25.

Leicester City - Abdul Fatawu 

Only Bruno Guimaraes (16) has won more fouls in the Premier League this season than Leicester's Abdul Fatawu (10), seven of which have been following an attempted take-on, more than any other player.

MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN

Leicester have won just two of their last 16 Premier League games in London (D3 L11), conceding 40 goals during that run (2.5 per game).

The Foxes have only opened the scoring in two of their last 24 Premier League games, conceding first in all three so far this season. Only in 1994-95 and 2001-02 have they conceded the first goal in each of their first four games in a Premier League season, being relegated in both of those campaigns.

Palace have won nine Premier League games against Leicester – against no side have they beaten more times in the competition.

Leicester lost 2-1 the last time they faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League (April 2023), having been unbeaten in their previous seven against the Eagles beforehand (W4 D3).

Since drawing consecutive home games 0-0 in September/October last season, Palace's last 16 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League have seen 59 goals scored (F34 A25, 3.7 per game). Only Chelsea (63) and Manchester City's (60) home games have seen more goals in the competition since the first game in that run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace - 56.6%

Leicester City - 21%

Draw - 22.4%

Unai Emery praised Jhon Duran’s attitude as the striker scored again in Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory away to Leicester.

Duran was the subject of heavy interest during the transfer window, with both West Ham and Chelsea reported to be interested in signing the Columbian.

But the 20-year-old remained at the club and has scored two goals in the first three games of the season, having scored the winner on the opening day against West Ham, and Emery reserved praise for Duran after the victory over Leicester.

The Spaniard said: He is focused, I didn't need to speak a lot about his future [during the window]. He is focused here. He has trained very well and is playing very well, doing the work we planned. He is scoring goals. Fantastic."

Emery also was pleased with the performance of right back Lamare Bogarde – the 20 year-old made his first Premier League start after Matty Cash’s injury last week.

“He played being comfortable”, said Emery.

“When we use different young players, when we will need them they must be ready. Bogarde, he has qualities to play there [right-back] and to do well. He played well."

Villa have continued their strong away form at the start of this season, and they have recorded 16 wins since Emery took charge, with only Manchester City and Arsenal having more victories.

The Spaniard believes the passionate Villa support on the road has played a huge role, saying: “We spoke about our supporters and that we always feel good away because we feel them. We have to be happy but keep going."

Leicester boss Steve Cooper did not believe the result was a fair one for his side.

Cooper told BBC Sport: "I thought we looked a good team at times today. We definitely didn’t deserve to lose the game. For the first goal, we need to own the set play – but it should never have been a free-kick.

"In the three games we’ve seen, we’ve seen more than enough in the performances to feel like we’re going to be OK [in the Premier League]."

Aston Villa held on to secure a second Premier League victory of the season, winning 2-1 away at Leicester City courtesy of goals from Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran.

Leicester – who have only managed to collect one point from their opening three Premier League fixtures – faced an Unai Emery side who were in no mood to be charitable at the King Power Stadium.

The visitors were on top for much of Saturday’s encounter and they opened their account with a well-worked free-kick routine that resulted in a second goal of the campaign for midfielder Onana after 28 minutes.

Villa doubled their lead after the break when Duran made an immediate impact from the bench, heading in beautifully from Lucas Digne’s centre, but Steve Cooper’s men were not done yet and a sub of their own, Facundo Buonanotte, slammed in from close range to set up a nervy finish.

Leicester pushed for an equaliser but Villa secured a hard-fought win that sees them move up to sixth position on six points ahead of the international break, with the Foxes still waiting for a first win since promotion.

Data Debrief: Villa dominance secures win

Villa were dominant throughout, with an xg of 1.48 to Leicester's 0.39, while they also created a total of four big chances in comparison to the home side's one.

Emery's men have now won their first two away games for the fourth time in the Premier League era, having achieved the feat in 2009-10, 2014-15 and 2020-21.

 

Unai Emery admitted Aston Villa will do everything in their power to reach the top six this season as they prepare to face Leicester City on Saturday. 

Emery watched on as his side suffered their first defeat of the Premier League season, losing 2-0 to Arsenal at Villa Park despite creating the better chances. 

Last season's top scorer, Ollie Watkins, endured a difficult spell in front of goal, squandering two golden opportunities either side of the half-time interval. 

But the Villains' head coach was confident his players will improve but acknowledged the difficulty of replicating last season's fourth-place finish in the division. 

"I accept the result today because we are doing our way and trying to improve our things and develop as well. It is the second day in the Premier League," Emery said.

"There's still work to do. We will improve and use those matches we played against West Ham and today to understand our way. We will try to be in the top 10, the top six.

"I am happy and if we were scoring goals then maybe we would be winning. With Arsenal, we feel we are close to getting a performance. The players will stay calm and have two days rest and then get ready for the match against Leicester."

Leicester were involved in EFL Cup action in midweek, producing a dominant 4-0 triumph over League Two side Tranmere Rovers at the King Power Stadium. 

The Foxes bounced back from their 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League, with new signing Jordan Ayew among the scorers on Tuesday.

Ayew was one of two new faces on show, with midfielder Oliver Skipp, who arrived from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, also handed his Leicester debut. 

Steve Cooper expressed his delight at the attitude shown by his players during the contest, and is keen for them to carry that into their meeting with Villa on Saturday.

“The most important thing is to win and play well. We had real dominance from start to finish," Cooper said. 

"Jordan (Ayew) made it happen with his goal, which is obviously a wonderful strike and good for him to get off the mark on his debut, but we needed more moments in the final third, whether it was one vs. one or combination work.

"The expectation is to play well. That starts with the right attitude, and I think we showed that mentality in the game tonight, which should be non-negotiable.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy has been involved in 98 Premier League goals at the King Power Stadium (71 goals and 27 assists), scoring their equaliser on the opening day against Spurs.

The veteran striker is looking to become the 14th player to have 100+ goal involvements at a single venue, while since 2014-15, only Mohamed Salah at Anfield (128) and Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad (111) have more goals and assists at a venue than Vardy at the King Power.

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

After enduring an uncharacteristically difficult day in front of goal against Arsenal, Watkins will be hopeful of halting his goal drought against the Foxes. 

Watkins has now gone seven Premier League appearances without a goal for Villa, his longest barren run since an eight-game run between August and October 2022, just prior to Emery’s arrival.

MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN

Villa are expected to bounce back in the East Midlands derby, winning 48.5% of Opta's data-led simulations, with Leicester prevailing in just 27.4% of those instances.

The Foxes, however, have lost just seven of their 28 Premier League meetings with Saturday's opponents (W11 D10), their lowest loss rate against any side they’ve faced 20+ times in the competition (25%).

But keeping goals out has proved to be a problem. Since a run of five clean sheets in six Premier League games prior to the 2022 World Cup break, Leicester have kept just one clean sheet in their last 25 matches in the top flight.

Cooper has also failed to win either of his first two league games in charge of Leicester (D1 L1); the last Foxes manager to win none of his opening three was Paulo Sousa in August 2010.

But since Emery's arrival at Villa Park, he has enjoyed playing away from the West Midlands. Only Man City (23) and Arsenal (20) have won more away games than Villa (15).

Villa are also looking to win their opening two away matches in a Premier League season for a fourth time, previously doing so in 2009-10, 2014-15 and 2020-21. But they will be hopeful of doing so with a clean sheet, having gone seven top flight games without a shutout.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester – 27.4%

Draw – 24%

Aston Villa – 48.5%

Premier League sides cruised into the EFL Cup third round on Tuesday, but there was concern for Brighton over new signing Matt O'Riley.

Denmark midfielder O'Riley arrived from Celtic this week but lasted just nine minutes of his Seagulls debut, hobbling off with an apparent ankle injury against League One side Crawley Town.

That issue will leave Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler worried, though the performance from the rest of his side left little concern after a 4-0 victory.

Simon Adingra got things going in the first half before Jeremy Sarmiento, Julio Enciso and Adam Webster were on target after the interval in a routine second-round win.

In stark contrast to Brighton, Sean Dyche's Toffees are yet to win – or score – in the Premier League this season but dispatched League Two's Doncaster Rovers 3-0 at Goodison Park.

Tim Iroegbunam and Iliman Ndiaye both scored their first competitive goals for Everton before backup striker Beto sealed a routine victory, which came in similar fashion to Palace's 4-0 win over Norwich City.

Oliver Glasner's side are without victory in the top flight this campaign, too, but eased into the third round after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice, along with goals for Eberechi Eze and Daichi Kamada, at Selhurst Park.

Leicester City, another side without a point to their name in the top division yet, also overcame Tranmere Rovers 4-0 thanks to goals from new signing Jordan Ayew, Stephy Mavididi, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks.

Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi grabbed the goals to secure a 2-1 win for Fulham over Leicester City at Craven Cottage.

Iwobi’s goal 20 minutes from time on Saturday saw Marco Silva’s team clinch their first victory of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Another former Arsenal player – Smith Rowe, a summer signing from the Gunners – opened his Fulham account when he broke the deadlock in the 18th minute.

Wout Faes headed home an equaliser before half-time, but the hosts’ dominance ultimately paid off when Iwobi raced through to finish underneath Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

Adama Traore and Iwobi had already been thwarted by the time the former set up Smith Rowe to fire firmly beyond Hermansen.

Faes scored the leveller against the run of play by rising highest to head past Bernd Leno at a corner.

But Fulham had their rewards when Antonee Robinson’s pass found Iwobi in behind the Leicester defence and he coolly squeezed the ball beyond Hermansen for the winner.

Data Debrief: Long wait over for Smith Rowe

Smith Rowe scored his first Premier League in 32 games, 857 days since netting against Chelsea in April 2022. 

Indeed, against no other team has he scored more goals (two) in the competition than against the Foxes.

Andreas Pereira created seven chances for his teammates against Leicester, no Fulham player has ever created more in a Premier League game on record (since 2003-04).

Faes has scored in two of his last three Premier League appearances, having failed to score in his first 30 in the competition beforehand.

Jordan Ayew has become Leicester City's seventh signing of the transfer window after his move from Crystal Palace was confirmed on Friday. 

Ayew, who made 212 appearances for the Eagles, arrives in the East Midlands for an initial £5million fee, potentially rising to £7.5million dependent on performances.

The 32-year-old offers Steve Cooper another experienced head in the forward areas alongside Jamie Vardy as the Foxes prepare to take on Fulham this Saturday. 

Ayew has featured 275 times in the Premier League for three different teams, scoring more English top flight goals for Palace (23) than he managed for any other club. 

He featured 37 times for the Eagles last season, registering 11 goal involvements (four goals and seven assists), with his assist tally the highest in the Palace side. 

"I’m very happy to be here and I’m proud. I want to thank the Club as they fought hard to bring me here – it happened quickly and I’m so happy to be here," Ayew said. 

“As a player, when you hear that the manager wants you, it just makes you want to come and work under him and to try to improve.

"Even though I’m 32, as a player you always want to learn and improve. I’m here to work hard and help the team achieve their targets.”

 

Steve Cooper insisted that keeping veteran striker Jamie Vardy fit throughout the season would be vital in confirming their Premier League status for another year. 

Vardy netted the Foxes' equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, scoring his ninth goal against Spurs and his 137th in the competition. 

While their talisman is coming to the end of his Leicester career and is the oldest player in the squad by five years, Cooper said his influence on the side is crucial. 

"Jamie doesn’t need any special words from me on his capabilities and impact he can have and the talent he has around the box," Cooper said. 

"Keeping him fresh for games is going to be important. He is an older player now at his age. As they get older, they understand their bodies well and know what is needed to prepare for games.

"It is important we work with him collaboratively to get him ready for games. He really enjoys the games and what it takes to get ready for games, and we have to respect that."

Fulham started the new season by falling to a late defeat at the hands of Manchester United, with new signing Joshua Zirkzee striking late for the hosts. 

It marked the Cottagers' first defeat starting a season away from home since the 2008-09 campaign, but there were positives to take for head coach Marco Silva.

Fulham registered 10 shots, with only two on target, as Silva recognised that his players must take a more precautionary approach to their first home game. 

"When I see our players with some free kicks, trying to rush all the decisions, even with the players on the grass trying to do it quickly, we should have much more balance in decisions, to have longer moments in possession," Silva said.  

"Because the pressure from Man United at that moment was not there any more. We should have longer possession to create the moments, but we started to lose the ball too quickly. 

"And then at the last minute, they scored in one moment that the game was completely broken."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Andreas Pereira

Despite losing their opening game against Manchester United, Andreas Pereira put on a strong showing against his former employers.

Pereira created more chances than any other Premier League player in the opening round of fixtures (six), while also playing the most passes into the final third (16) than any other Fulham player last Friday.

It’s the 19th time on record a Fulham player has created six or more chances in a top-flight match, with the Brazilian responsible for seven of those.

Leicester – Abdul Fatawu

Leicester enjoyed a much better result upon their return to the Premier League, with one of the standout figures from their Championship success, Abdul Fatawu, starring for the Foxes.

No Premier League player won more duels on matchday one than Fatawu (13), while he also led all Foxes players in successful dribbles (three), possession won (eight) and tackles (six).

MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN

Fulham will be hoping to return to winning ways on home soil. They have only started a season with consecutive defeats in just two of their 17 previous Premier League campaigns (2018-19 and 2020-21).

The Cottagers won both Premier League meetings with Leicester the last time the sides met in 2022-23, last winning three consecutive league games against the Foxes between 1966 and 1967.

However, Fulham haven’t won their first home match in any of their last five Premier League campaigns (D1 L4), since a 5-0 win against Norwich City in 2012-13.

For Leicester, they will be looking to carry their away form from the Championship into the Premier League.

No side in the top four tiers of English football won more away league games than Leicester last season (14). The Foxes won each of their first seven away games in the Championship last term, winning the same amount in their final 16 on the road (D3 L6).

Foxes boss Cooper, however, has lost six of his seven meetings with Fulham in all competitions, though his one and only success did come at Craven Cottage (1-0 in April 2022). He’s lost all three Premier League games against the Cottagers by an aggregate score of 10-2.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 51.5%

Draw – 24.3%

Leicester – 24.1%

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was left frustrated by his side's lack of ruthless edge as they were denied in a 1-1 draw against Leicester City on Monday.

Spurs dominated for large periods in their Premier League opener at the King Power Stadium but had only Pedro Porro's first-half opener to show for their efforts.

Jamie Vardy's second-half equaliser punished wasteful Spurs as debutant Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all missed great chances for the visitors.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, a disgruntled Postecoglou said: "It was a disappointing outcome for us. 

"I thought we were excellent first half and controlled the game. Really dominant with our football but just wasteful in front of goal and the same in the second half and when that happens you keep the opposition in the game.

"We created chances and weren't ruthless enough at other times lacking composure. It's stuff we need to fix. 

"When you are so dominant you need to make sure it is reflected by the scoreline."

Steve Cooper earned a point in his first game as Leicester boss since replacing now Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in pre-season.

It was 37-year-old and Foxes stalwart Vardy who did the damage, even though he missed a big chunk of pre-season due to injury.

Cooper said it was not a difficult decision to start Leicester's long-term talisman after a conversation a few days ago.

"It was a straightforward decision," he told Sky Sports.

"Three days ago we were without an experienced striker. He just showed so much desire to play. 

"Had it been on Saturday he probably wouldn't have played but luckily it wasn't. He did what he does."

Jamie Vardy says a little half-time chat inspired Leicester City to earn a draw against Tottenham after he felt they showed the visitors too much respect in the first half.

The veteran striker, 37, netted a second-half equaliser as Premier League new boys Leicester earned a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium on Monday.

Leicester were completely outclassed in a first half in which Spurs were unlucky to only have Pedro Porro's header to show for their efforts.

But Vardy's goal changed the momentum and earned last season's Championship victors a point in Steve Cooper's first game in charge.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Vardy said: "We just had a little chat between ourselves at half-time. 

"Tottenham are a really good team but we have them too much respect and we started getting after them and it changed the momentum.

"We said when it got to 40 minutes make sure you go in not conceding any more. We'll take the point and move on now."

Vardy missed a lot of pre-season through injury but put in a good shift for his side and missed a great one-on-one chance to win it before being withdrawn after 79 minutes.

"I was as fit as a fiddle until I got to about 65 minutes, if I'm honest," Vardy added.

"I wouldn't say I am doing anything differently playing-wise. Probably adapted a bit by dropping in but I think the main thing is I am looking after myself recovery-wise to the maximum."

Jamie Vardy made Tottenham pay for missing a host of chances as Premier League new boys Leicester City started the Steve Cooper era by battling to a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium.

Ex-Foxes midfielder James Maddison set up Pedro Porro to head home the opener in Monday's match, which Ange Postecoglou's visitors dominated for large periods.

But veteran Vardy, who Cooper had ruled out only a few days ago, scored a ninth career Premier League goal against Spurs to bring the home fans to their feet.

Tottenham, who lost Rodrigo Bentancur to a head injury that caused a lengthy stoppage in the second half, were left to rue a series of missed opportunities with debutant Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all culpable.

Maddison clipped in a brilliant cross for Porro to flick home after 29 minutes, with Brennan Johnson volleying wide and Solanke – signed for £65million from Bournemouth this month – heading straight at Mads Hermansen.

Vardy made Spurs when nodding in Abdul Fatawu's dinked cross from the right of the area and was denied one-on-one by Guglielmo Vicario shortly after as the momentum changed.

Bentancur's lengthy stoppage after a clash of heads with Fatawu meant there were nine minutes of added time, and Richarlison wastefully headed wide after a fabulous free-kick from fellow substitute and teenage debutant Lucas Bergvall in the last of those.

Data Debrief: Vardy now only behind Salah

Vardy has now scored eight goals in nine matchday one appearances in the Premier League, level with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney. Only Mohamed Salah with nine has more.

Of players with at least 40 assists in the Premier League, only Andrew Cole (62 per cent - 45/73) has a higher proportion coming in away games than Spurs ace Maddison (60 per cent - 25/42).

Tottenham have drawn their opening game of the Premier League season in successive campaigns for the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03 under Glenn Hoddle, while it also ends a run of six successive wins against newly promoted sides in the competition.

Leicester City have announced the signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp ahead of the sides' Premier League encounter on Monday. 

Skipp, who made 106 appearances across five seasons with Spurs, has put pen to paper on a five-year contract for a reported £20m fee at the King Power Stadium. 

The 23-year-old featured in 21 league games under Ange Postecoglou last year, five of which were starts, totalling to 694 minutes of action. 

He enjoyed his best campaign during the 2022-23 season, making 31 appearances in all competitions and scoring his only goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Chelsea. 

During that season, Skipp completed 659 passes, bettering the likes of Son Heung-min (644), Harry Kane (613) and Dejan Kulusevski (558). 

Skipp reunites with new Foxes boss Steve Cooper, having previously worked together during the Welshman's time in the England youth set-up. 

The midfielder was also part of the Three Lions side that won the European Under-21 Championship last year, playing 17 minutes in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final. 

“I’m really excited to sign. I’ve got the feeling that it’s a good group of people and a good group of players," Skipp told Leicester's official website.

"I’m sure that we’ve got a squad capable of challenging in every game. You look around the squad and there’s lots of exciting players who have played in the Premier League and I’m really excited to see what this group can achieve.

“I had conversations with the people here and they gave me a feeling of warmth and that they were excited to have me on board.

"As a player, when you feel that excitement, that’s something you can use to develop your game.

"The staff here know me as well - Steve [Cooper], I have worked with at England, so there’s definitely a good relationship there and I’m keen to push on and show what I can do.”

Dominic Solanke is a “top pro” who is exactly what Tottenham expected when they paid big money to sign him from Bournemouth, so says Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs splurged a club-record fee – reportedly up to £65million – on Solanke, who scored 19 Premier League goals for the Cherries last season.

Solanke could be in line to make his Tottenham debut on Monday, when Spurs open their Premier League campaign away at newly promoted Leicester City.

And Postecoglou spoke highly of his new addition.

"Thankfully, it's what we expected,” said the Australian.

“He's a top pro and a good guy – he's settled into the dressing room really well.

“Football-wise you can see he has all the attributes we need. We've still got a couple of training sessions to go but he's doing well.”

While Postecoglou confirmed Spurs will have a full squad to choose from, bar the suspended Yves Bissouma, at the King Power Stadium, hosts Leicester are not as fortunate.

Steve Cooper, who is preparing for his first league match in charge of the Foxes, confirmed Patson Daka was set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering an injury against Lens in pre-season, with the striker set for a long spell out.

“Patson [Daka] obviously is not great news,” Cooper said. “He suffered quite a serious ankle injury last week in the game in Lens and he is going to be out for a good few months.

“He’s having an operation. That’s really unfortunate for him because he was looking good in pre-season.”

Jamie Vardy is also absent.

Cooper, whose last Premier League game was a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham in December last year with Nottingham Forest, added: “Vards, similarly, he’s been injured since the second week of pre-season now, when we were on one of our pre-season camps.

"He’s closer to returning but it will be a little while, although he’s itching to get back. But it’s not great at that end of the pitch.

“He’s right at the latter stages of rehab now and just making sure he can fight past those final stages before he returns. With experience and age a little bit, he really understands his body and he knows what it takes.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester City – Stephy Mavididi

Mavididi scored 12 league goals for Leicester in their push for promotion last term, a tally bettered only by Vardy (18). The winger created 72 chances, providing six assists. Only Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has since joined Chelsea, crafted more goalscoring opportunities (109) for the Foxes.

Tottenham – Son Heung-min

Son has been involved in 13 goals in 14 Premier League appearances against Leicester (nine goals, four assists), only having a hand in more against Southampton (15). Indeed, the South Korean has scored five and assisted once in his last three against the Foxes.

MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

Leicester have lost half of their Premier League games played on Mondays (21/42) – only in Friday games do the Foxes have a higher loss rate in the competition (61.5% – 8/13).

Tottenham’s last four Premier League wins of 2023-24 came against each of the sides to finish in the bottom four (Forest, Luton Town, Burnley, Sheffield United). They won all six of their league games against promoted sides last term, accounting for 30% of their overall victories (6/20).

This is the seventh time Tottenham are starting their Premier League campaign against a promoted side; they have won five of the previous six, losing the other 1-0 against Sunderland in 2007-08.

However, Leicester are unbeaten on the last nine occasions they have begun their league campaign with a home game (W6 D3).

Expect goals in this one. Of all Premier League fixtures to have been played at least 30 times, Leicester against Tottenham has the highest goals-per-game average (3.8 – 128 goals in 34 games). There have been 28 goals scored in the last five meetings between the sides alone (5.6 per game).

Spurs have only failed to score in one of their 17 Premier League away games against Leicester, a 3-0 loss at Filbert Street in September 1997.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester City – 26.5%

Tottenham – 49.9%

Draw – 23.6%

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Yves Bissouma has been suspended for Tottenham's opening game of the Premier League campaign against Leicester. 

Bissouma, who made 28 appearances last season, posted a video of himself inhaling nitrous oxide on social media last weekend. 

The incident occurred hours after Spurs' final pre-season clash, where they lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in the Visit Malta Cup.

The 27-year-old later issued an apology, saying: "I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgement.

"I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously.”

However, Spurs have since taken the decision to exclude the midfielder from the squad for their trip to the King Power Stadium on Monday. 

"I've been in the game for a long time. When a situation like this arises, I've tried to look at them in a couple of ways," Postecoglou said in his pre-match press conference. 

"First, there's a person. That's Biss and he's made a poor decision.

"There are still sanctions involved, and some of those are educational. The second part of that is he's a footballer, with responsibilities.

"He won't be available on Monday. We've suspended him for Monday's game. He needs to build that trust back with both me and the group.

"The door is open for him and hopefully we can help him realise the decisions he makes impact the group.

"[It's down to] behaviour, it's that simple. It's about making better decisions. He was very apologetic to me, the club and everyone involved, but that's just part of it."

Dean Smith has revealed that he wanted to sign Jamie Vardy for Charlotte FC.

Smith managed Vardy during his time in charge at Leicester City in the spring of 2023, though it was an ultimately unsuccessful period, as the Foxes were relegated to the Championship.

The ex-Aston Villa boss still hoped the 37-year-old could have been persuaded to join up with him in the United States, but Leicester’s subsequent promotion back to the Premier League ended any real hopes of a reunion.

He said: “I did text him and see if he wanted to come over to America, but I knew that was going to be hard once he took Leicester back to the Premier League."

Smith backed Vardy to shine on his return to the top flight, as long as the veteran striker is managed correctly.

“It’s just his enthusiasm for the game, he doesn’t train as much as he used to and he won’t get as many minutes as he used to, but if he’s used right, he’ll be really, really good [this season]. You saw the goals he scored in the Championship.”

Smith’s side, however, are reportedly in talks with Newcastle United over the signing of winger Miguel Almiron.

The Magpies are open to selling, but it is rumoured it would be difficult to persuade the Paraguayan to return to the United States, where he spent time at Atlanta United, winning MLS Cup before moving to St James’ Park in 2019.

Charlotte have already signed Fulham stalwart Tim Ream this summer.

The MLS transfer window closes on Wednesday.

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