Premier League preview - Week 7

Can Tottenham prove they're the real deal against Man City? Leicester crash back to Earth and West Ham in full crisis mode. All this and more in this week's Premier League preview.

Game of the Week - Tottenham v Manchester City

With Manchester City in cruise control, Tottenham Hotspur are hoping to prove they’re the real deal. The North Londoners welcome the league leaders to White Hart Lane in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter.

Thanks to the outstanding contribution of midfielder Son Heung-min, Spurs remain unbeaten in the Premier League and have won four of their last five in all competitions.

After an inconsistent 2015/16 campaign, Son was seen as an outcast at the start of this season and reportedly asked manager Mauricio Pochettino for permission to leave to get more playing time.

But Spurs fans are sighing with relief after he stayed, as the South Korean has bagged five goals in five matches, including a brace at Stoke and the winner against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

“[He’s] a different person - he's more mature and he knows the league and he's settled in fantastically now,” Pochettino said of Son.

Manchester City are a whole new level of opponent, however, and will test Spurs like no other team has yet.

The Citizens will be rueing the point dropped in their entertaining 3-3 draw at Celtic in the Champions League midweek and will come out firing.

Despite the loss of Kevin De Bruyne to injury, City boast a glut superstar playmakers and finishers. Sergio Aguero remains a constant threat, but the man who’s grabbed the headlines thus far is Raheem Sterling.

Sterling has flourished under manager Pep Guardiola and has a freedom and energy to his play that was rarely seen in previous seasons.

Where the teams are separated though is in defense. Tottenham lead the league in fewest goals conceded with three, thanks in part to their rock solid centre-back pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.

City has conceded five in the Premier League but questions remain about their back four, as evidenced by the aforementioned Celtic draw.

If this game was at the Etihad, it could be a different story, but a 1-1 draw is on the cards.

Leicester City crashing back to Earth

Not that it will faze Leicester fans, but their title defense looks to be all but over after just six games.

The Foxes have equalled their loss total from all of last season with three - against Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool - conceding four goals in each game.

So what’s gone wrong for them? The loss of N’Golo Kante in central midfield has hurt, but their back four has remained unchanged. Tactically however, they’ve had to adapt.

New rules instituted by the Premier League has meant shirt tugging by defenders is more strictly enforced. This means centre-backs Wes Morgan and Robert Huth are now exposed as the slow players they are to the more fleet-footed attackers.

Additionally, this makes defending corners a lot more about anticipation and positioning than brute strength.

Leicester welcome the high-tempo Southampton to the King Power Stadium who are fresh off a 3-0 drubbing of West Ham.

Expect more misery Foxes fans, but just keep reminding yourself - you won last year.

Hammers in crisis mode

Speaking of West Ham, Slaven Bilic’s side are in full crisis mode. After defying expectations last season, the Hammers have lost four on the trot, conceding 11 goals in the process. They’re firmly rooted to the bottom of the table and fans are walking out of their London Stadium home.

Surprisingly, that’s where a lot of the blame is going - yes, towards the new stadium. Having moved from Upton Park to the former Olympic stadium, fans are complaining that the lack of atmosphere has contributed to the poor results.

Despite the shiny new facilities for fans and players, the new arena has spectators seated a long way from the playing surface and there’s no home supporters area.

They need a win to settle the nerves of fans, and Middlesbrough provide the perfect antidote for their woes.

'Borough have been equally poor after a solid start to the season but Dimitri Payet and Co should prove too much.

Big boys hope for easy wins

The rest of the big boys - Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal - should coast to easy wins this weekend against Hull, Stoke and Burnley respectively.

Liverpool travel to Swansea which could provide a stumbling block for the Reds, but on recent form the Welsh side shouldn’t pose a threat.

Let’s hope the reigns are let loose by the managers and plenty of goals go flying in.