Matty James was made to wait for his 100^th Leicester City appearance this weekend but it was not due to a lack of fitness, according to manager Claudio Ranieri.

After nearly 18 months out with a knee injury, James was named in the match day squad to take on Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The central midfielder has not featured for the first-team since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the victory over Southampton in April last year.

The 25-year-old appeared to be on the verge of coming off the bench at the King Power Stadium only for Ranieri to change his mind at put Demarai Gray on instead on 76 minutes.

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But the Foxes manager explained that it was tactics based after Leicester fell behind to Alvaro Negredo’s second strike five minutes earlier, before Islam Slimani’s stoppage-time penalty rescued a point for the champions.

Ranieri explained: “I said to him ‘are you ready to play?’ because I wanted to help my midfielders, but when I said ‘ready?’ they scored the second goal!”

“Then I had to change and put [Demarai] Gray in there to try to help [Islam] Slimani and create chances for us.

“They played with 4-3-3 but with more players in the middle. We played just with two and we suffered a lot. Andy King and Daniel Amartey worked so hard. For them it was easier to keep possession between the lines because always they had more players there than us.”

Harry Kane is confident Tottenham Hotspur can turn their fortunes around after seeing their unbeaten start to the season end against Chelsea on Saturday evening.

Spurs had taken points from each of their 12 top-flight games so far this campaign before travelling to Stamford Bridge, where they fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The loss means Mauricio Pochettino’s side now sit in fifth place with plenty of games yet to come, but Kane remains optimistic that his side can still be battling for top honours come the end of the season.

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“It’s been a tough week to go out of the Champions League and now lose here [against Chelsea] but it’s early, we’ve still plenty of games left in the Premier League,” Kane said.

“Swansea next week is definitely one we’re now looking at to try and get back to winning ways and put this week behind us.

“It’s been a tough week to go out of the Champions League and now lose here [against Chelsea] but it’s early, we’ve still plenty of games left in the Premier League.

“Swansea next week is definitely one we’re now looking at to try and get back to winning ways and put this week behind us.”

Manchester City midfielder Fernando hopes Sergio Aguero continues to have a smile on his face heading into next weekend’s crunch clash with Chelsea.

The Argentine striker took his tally of goals for the season to 16 in 18 appearances with a double against Burnley on Saturday.

That helped the third-placed Citizens onto 30 points for the season with Liverpool above them on goal difference and Chelsea leading the way one point better off.

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Next Saturday sees first versus third go head to head in a lunch time kick off and Fernando admits a full-firing Aguero will be invaluable for their chances not just this week but for the campaign as a whole.

“We are very happy when Aguero is in a good mood and good shape, we are very happy for his two goals but also for the two goals for the team but we hope he can keep scoring,” he said.

“In the Premier League we know that every match is difficult, Chelsea will be very difficult of course and we will need to be very focused and try to get the three points like in every game to get our target which is winning the Premier League.

“It’s always better if we have some extra days to relax. Pep (Guardiola) will analyse the next opponent and get us ready for the game.”

Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka was thrilled to see Alvaro Negredo back to scoring ways despite their 2-2 draw with Leicester City.

Negredo, on loan at the Riverside from Spanish side Valencia, had failed to find the back of the net since the opening day of the season against Stoke City.

Since then, he had gone 11 games without a goal, but twice put Middlesbrough ahead against the Premier League champions at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

But despite the Foxes scoring two equalisers from the penalty spot, Karanka was thrilled with his side’s performance.

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“I know how good Alvaro is and how hard he is working,” he said.

“I am pleased for him. But he scored two goals because our team were amazing.

“I can’t say how proud I am of them and our crowd in such an important game for us.

“We showed again we are  really good side and how well we can play, against Leicester who won the league last season.

“We should have won the game and I think we were the better team.

“But football can be unfair and today we didn’t get the three points we deserved.”

Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe is confident he can still deliver for England, and admits he would grasp the opportunity with both hands should the international call arrive.

The 34-year-old, who has 55 England caps to date, has hit 17 goals this calendar year, and recorded his 150^th Premier League strike in last week’s 3-0 win over Hull City.

His 15 goals last season helped the Black Cats avoid the dreaded drop from the top flight, and while the rest of his playing days may be numbered, Defoe admits there is still plenty to come from him yet.

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“As a forward, if you’re scoring goals, you get in the [international] squad,” he said. “It has been like that over the years if you look at the great goalscorers this country has produced, it’s always about playing well, scoring goals and being fit.

“I’m not sitting there saying that I should be playing for England but if someone said to me do you think you’re good enough to get into the squad, I would say yes.”

“I still feel sharp. I don’t feel like I’ve had to change my game in any way.

“I understand that as players get older you may have to change your game, instead of running in behind sometimes you may have to drop short.

“I feel like I can do it, and I’ve carried on this season, it’s good. I don’t feel 34 at all.”

Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann admits his side’s problems have once again come from their own making after suffering a 5-4 defeat to Swansea in one of the Premier League’s best ever games.

The Eagles had been trailing 3-1 but, despite suffering injury to Connor Wickham, battled their way back to lead 4-3 – an advantage they held going into stoppage time.

But a Fernando Llorente double in the closing stages saw Swansea take the spoils, compounding Palace to a sixth successive Premier League defeat.

But rather than seeing the nine-goal clash as a one-off blip, Dann admits it’s part of a worrying trend that has seen his side take the fewest points per game out of any team in the top four divisions in 2016.

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“We have been saying that for a number of weeks now, it’s important that we do see these situations out and take the points, once again  we have managed to give them away,” he said.

“It wasn’t as though they were great goals, they came from set pieces again and we’ve discussed this over the last couple of weeks and we don’t learn our lesson. The sooner we do that the better.

“If there are any positives we still showed the fight but we have got to show that every game and also show that we can see games out when we get ahead as a team.

“When we do that I am sure we will start picking up points but we can’t go on like this game.”

Gareth McAuley would rather take the plaudits for his defending rather than his goal scoring exploits despite his header earning a point for West Brom against Hull City.

The Northern Irishman took his tally of goals for the season to five – four for his club and one for his country – with a first-half effort on Saturday.

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That would not be enough for the Baggies to take the win though as Michael Dawson forced home an equaliser on 72 minutes, much to McAuley’s disappointment.

The 36-year-old has now scored more Premier League goals for West Brom than any other defender with 12 and is the first defender to score three in the league this season.

His goal for his country against Azerbaijan earlier this month also saw him match George Best’s tally of nine goals for Northern Ireland.

But McAuley admits clean sheets, rather than goals, is the currency he would prefer to deal in.

“It’s always nice to get on the scoresheet, I would rather the clean sheet and us take the three points,” he said.

“It was a bit funny I knew I got good contact on the ball, but it was a bit of a delayed reaction for it going in so I had to check it.

“It’s a nice little run I’m on at the minute but clean sheets is what I’m after.

“Like I said, it’s always nice to score but if I’d got the three points I would have been more pleased.

“We’re on a little unbeaten run now, we’ve got another game next week and hopefully we can win it.”

Mike Phelan was quick to heap praise on Josh Tymon after the 17-year-old Hull City defender put in an assured performance on his home debut.

Tymon made his Premier League bow in the 3-0 away defeat to Sunderland the previous weekend, playing 68 minutes before being substituted.

And the rising star was given all bar the final moments on Saturday as he helped the Tigers pick up a point in their 1-1 draw with West Brom.

Playing at left-back, Tymon did not look out of place having been given the role of keeping highly-rated Matt Phillips quiet.

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There is already speculation linking the defender – who is rumoured to be on just £160 a week – with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

But for now, Phelan – who was also around to see the progress of Manchester United’s Class of 92 – was happy to simply reflect on the having a new home-grown star among his team’s ranks.

“I’ve grown up around having faith in youth because without that there is no future in football,” he said.

“When a blossoming kid comes along showing all the enthusiasm and he’s local, you get a reaction from supporters.

“He’s willing to learn, willing to progress and I think he has a big future in front of him.

“He’s near enough come straight from school into the Premier League, but it’s great to see a young player doing well.”

No fewer than 1664 days may had passed since his last Premier League appearance, but Paul Robinson admits he loved every second of being back between the sticks, despite Burnley’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Former England goalkeeper Robinson, who previously played for Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers in the top flight, made his debut on Saturday after the ever-present Tom Heaton was ruled out with a calf injury.

The 37-year-old could do little to prevent Sergio Aguero’s two goals to give the visitors all three points at Turf Moor, but Robinson admitted he enjoyed every bit of his return to competitive action.

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“When I made the decision to come back, I couldn’t envisage I would get the chance to play in the Premier League again,” said Robinson, who joined the Clarets in January after seven months away from football.

“Things have gone really well. I have got myself fit, got myself in a condition that I wanted to be in and to be given the chance to play was the icing on the cake for me.

“It’s like riding a bike. It’s two years since I played a competitive game, four years since a Premier League game but I made the first save and it was like ‘that feels really good’.

“I just enjoyed it. It was a no-lose situation for me. We weren’t expecting to do anything and I personally wasn’t expected to do anything.

“When Tom gets fit he’s coming back in because he is in excellent form, he’s the club captain and he’s doing really well.

“My job is to hold the fort while he’s away to the best of my ability, which is what I’m doing.”

He described it as one of the most bizarre games of his career but midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson insists Swansea City have to use their remarkable 5-4 victory over Crystal Palace to jump start their season.

The Icelandic international levelled the scores at 1-1 in the 36^th minute at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday but his goal was relegated to a mere footnote by what followed.

No fewer than seven goals came after the break, including four in 11 second-half minutes as the Swans produced an extraordinary comeback to claim their first win since the opening day of the season.

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They were 3-1 ahead after Leroy Fer’s double before Palace replied with three goals to seemingly set up the win.

However substitute Fernando Llorente had the last say with two late goals to cap an astonishing game and move Swansea off the bottom of the table.

“It was a real mix of emotions,” said Sigurdsson.

“We are obviously happy with the win, but then frustrated that we were 3-1 up and then led the lead slip away to fall 4-3 behind.

“But we showed a lot of character coming back. At 4-3 a lot of teams would have given up and let the minutes run out.

“But we didn’t. We got a lucky one to make it 4-4 then to make it 5-4 before the end was hugely satisfying.

“It was the most bizarre game I’ve ever been involved in.

“The belief is there. Now we need to build on this result and the one at Everton.

“I’ve said in the last few weeks that it was about getting three points. Whether it is pretty or not, it doesn’t matter.

“A 3-1 win would have been great for our confidence, but to win it in the way we did is massive for team morale and spirit.”