Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks the world will be watching the Premier League on Boxing Day, as he prepares to take his side to relegation-threatened Leicester City. The Argentinean got his first taste of England's hectic festive schedule with Southampton last season, and with winter breaks now in operation in most European countries, he says the English top flight will take centre-stage.
"I like Christmas football. It's a good challenge for us and the players," he said. "It's a time to share with your family, with the supporters. I like it. Maybe I am different to other managers, but I like this period. "We don't have it in Argentina. Argentina is like Spain - (you) stop playing in this period. "This is a good opportunity to show a good performance, not only in Argentina but the rest of the world, because everyone is focusing on England now."
There is a good mood currently at seventh-placed Spurs following just one defeat in their last six league matches and Jan Vertonghen wants his team-mates to prolong the momentum at the King Power Stadium. "We feel very confident, so if everyone continues like this then we can win at Leicester," said the Belgian centre-back, whose side won 2-1 at home to Burnley last weekend. "Burnley played well on Saturday, but we defended well and didn't give them too many chances.
"They scored an amazing goal in the first half, but for the rest of the game we didn't give them too much in terms of clear opportunities. We need to continue winning at Leicester. We have to keep the run going." Leicester manager Nigel Pearson will watch the match from the stands after being given a touchline ban and £10,000 ($15,600, 12,700 euros) fine following a heated exchange with a Foxes fan earlier this month. Pearson says he has received "overwhelming" support since the incident, which happened towards the end of Leicester's 3-1 defeat by Liverpool in early December.