Leicester City look equipped to match their ambition after learning from last season's collapse

Foxes narrowly missed out on the top four in 2019/20, but have a stronger squad, and a tactically astute manager, to help achieve this year's targets

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy celebrates after his header led to Tottenham Hotspur's Toby Alderweireld scoring an own goal on Sunday. PA

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane speaks with referee Craig Pawson Pool. reuters

Leicester's Jamie Vardy, left is hugged by Leicester's manager Brendan Rodgers after being substituted during the match against Tottenham Hotspur. AP

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho. Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale had a tough match. Reuters

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy scores their first goal from the penalty spot. Reuters

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy heads towards goal leading to Tottenham Hotspur's Toby Alderweireld scoring an own goal. PA

Jamie Vardy of Leicester celebrates after Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham scored an own goal. EPA

The last time Manchester United visited the King Power Stadium, it capped a comeback. They had been 14 points behind Leicester City in the Premier League with 14 games remaining. They won 2-0 and finished ahead of them. Leicester, who had spent 289 days in the top four, were condemned to the Europa League.

As they reconvene on Saturday, both sides are in Europe's secondary competition, with United ejected from the Champions League after three defeats in four games, but both are in the top four. United's surge from 15th to third in seven matches has been a remarkable response. So, though, has been Leicester's reaction to disappointment.

"I can't fault the spirit," Brendan Rodgers said in July. "Next year it's about ambition." Ambition has been reflected in results: they registered a first away win at Arsenal in 47 years, their biggest league win at Tottenham in 21 years and became the first team to score five goals against a Pep Guardiola side.

The nostalgic may note they won away at Spurs and Manchester City in their title-winning campaign of 2015-16. More pertinently, perhaps, Leicester only defeated one top-half finisher in the final two-thirds of last season. Their scalps thus far bode better, especially if Champions League qualification comes down to what are, in effect, six-pointers.

Rodgers was once a byword for possession football. Leicester’s success this season has been as clinical counter-attackers, personified by Jamie Vardy, picking off teams on their own turf. It shows Rodgers’ flexibility as a coach and a tactician, even if Vardy jokingly said at Tottenham: “Maybe we’re doing something wrong in the home games.”

The home form, featuring defeats to West Ham, Aston Villa, Fulham and Everton, is keeping Leicester off the Premier League summit. Those four games, when Leicester averaged 62 per cent of possession but only mustered 10 shots on target, highlight an issue that may have a pertinence on Saturday. Both they and United prefer to catch opponents on the break. Yet the same could be said of Spurs and Leicester stifled them while displaying their own cutting edge.

Rodgers surprised Manchester City with a back five. His strategic skills, and Leicester’s results, have been all the more admirable given the cast list of absentees. He has had to adapt according to injuries and after the summer sale of Ben Chilwell. Jonny Evans missed the first three games after his red card against United. Caglar Soyuncu has sat out the last 10 league games. James Maddison did not start any of the first five.

After a fine start, Timothy Castagne missed seven in a row. The pivotal Wilfred Ndidi was ruled out of eight: that was an inspiration for the inclusion of an extra centre-back, with Rodgers rationalising no one else could shield the defence like Ndidi.

And that ever-changing defence has featured revelations. Wesley Fofana has been one of the signings of the season; newly turned 20, he has played with a maturity to bely his tender age. Last season, Ricardo Pereira was arguably the outstanding right-back not named Trent Alexander-Arnold. Injury has meant the Portuguese is yet to feature in this season’s Premier League but, in between excelling on the left, James Justin has been outstanding.

Justin came for a fee rising to £8 million ($10.7m), Evans for just £3.5m. The former United defender is, Rodgers said, “very close” to signing a contract extension. Meanwhile, much of Leicester’s business was funded by United, who paid them £80m for Harry Maguire.

Victory in July meant Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s captain avoided the ignominy of finishing below his old employers. But a reunion begins with Maguire’s past ahead of his present.