The two have thrilled throughout the season with their innovative, eccentric styles of play. Can they defy the odds and win the league?
As the weekend’s results unraveled, you could not help but contemplate if one of Leicester City or Tottenham Hotspur could actually win this Premier League. Neither was at their best in their respective games against Norwich and Swansea but it was significantly telling that both of them prevailed.
Both have instilled a never say die attitude that must be a characteristic of every champion and their resilience in times of adversity has come to the fore many times when trouble has arisen. As the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City have dazzled and disappointed with their inconsistency, the Foxes and Lilywhites have been admirable models of consistency and both Claudio Ranieri and Mauricio Pochettino deserve immense plaudits for this.
Indeed with just 11 games to go, it is startling to see these two teams at the top of the table after last season where Leicester narrowly escaped relegation, finishing in 14th, while Spurs disappointed and finished outside the Champions League places in fifth. However that should not deter this season’s remarkable achievements and there is no reason why one of them cannot go on to win the whole thing.
With their win on Saturday, the Foxes moved to 56 points, two ahead of Spurs but crucially, five ahead of Arsenal. It essentially meant the Gunners’ last-minute win over them last matchday was in vain – the five-point advantage they had before that game was restored.
A look at Leicester’s next eight fixtures should bring consternation to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City. Ranieri’s men welcome West Brom to the King Power Stadium followed by home games against Newcastle, Southampton, West Ham and Swansea City along with games away to Watford, Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
While there are tough assignments among those matches, it is not implausible to think that the Foxes could come through that period without losing, even if they do not win all of those. That will take them to the point of having just three matches left, where they will play Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea, knowing full well that none of those clubs have come close to beating them this season. What a storyline it would be for Ranieri and his charges to seal the league at defending champions Chelsea on the last day, the club whose owner had no patience or sympathy for him all those years ago.
Like Leicester, this is a golden opportunity for Tottenham who have seen their most impressive side in years move from strength to strength this season. Although they have quite a tough run home when compared to Leicester’s, they have an opportunity to potentially knock Arsene Wenger and his team out of the title race with a win over their North London rivals in Saturday’s derby.
Whatever comes out of these results, Leicester and Tottenham will both be safe in the knowledge that neither Arsenal nor Manchester City are infallible and both will surely drop points in their remaining games. Although they are not infallible themselves, they both have weapons that can see them through. No one in the league has scored more than the top two’s total of 49 and Pochettino’s team can lay claim to having the best defence in the land, conceding a miserly 21 times in 27 games.
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Were either of these two teams to actually go all the way, it would mean so much more than defying the odds or the new-found prestige both would acquire. It would allow Spurs fans to stop attempting to evoke nostalgic moments of their two solitary league wins in 1950-51 and 1960-61; it would allow Leicester to go one better than they did almost a century ago when they finished second in 1928-29 in the English First Tier.
But more importantly, triumph would erase the perception that money buys you titles like Manchester City and Chelsea have done recently. Yes, Tottenham have spent millions building parts of their squad, but not in the mammoth sums that the aforementioned City and Chelsea have.
Instead, it would illustrate that with a decent squad and an innovative manager with a clear blueprint for success, anything is possible. It would also be another advertising boost for a league which frequently proclaims itself to be the best because of its unpredictability. An underdog winner in the Premier League era has been almost non-existent with Blackburn Rovers of 1995 the only team that can be considered outsiders to have won it. Before them, you would have to go back to the great Nottingham Forest team of the late 1970s and 80s to find anything comparable.
That is why it is so important for both Leicester and Spurs to grasp the moment and take their shot at glory as they never know when such an opportunity will arise again. With both probably doing enough so far to secure Champions league football for next season along with the lucrative television deal that is set to kick in next season, the opportunity for immense growth from also-rans into regular challengers is there.
But forget just Champions League qualification, the message to both of these teams is to aim for the title and prove a point to the world , that money cannot buy everything and sometimes David can trump Goliath.
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