IT is one of the toughest jobs in English football, but DeAndre Yedlin cannot wait to take it on. Shackling Jamie Vardy has proved beyond plenty of Premier League defenders this season, but Sunderland’s American full-back is confident of succeeding where others have failed.

Vardy will head to the Stadium of Light on Sunday looking to pen another extraordinary chapter in a tale that has already defied belief. Four years ago, the 29-year-old was playing in the Conference Premier with Fleetwood Town. In six games time, there is every chance he will be lifting the Premier League title with Leicester City.

He boasts 19 league goals in the current campaign, making him the second-highest scorer in the top-flight behind Harry Kane, recently scored his first two goals for England in back-to back matches with Germany and Holland, and will head to France this summer as part of Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016.

He is also a nightmare to defend against, with his constant movement and energetic closing down meaning the whole of an opposition back four has to come up with a plan of how to contain him.

Much of Sunderland’s defensive work this week has been focused on how to deal with Vardy, but while he admires the striker’s qualities, Yedlin is looking forward to the challenge of facing him. He expects to be placed in some difficult positions on Sunday, but readily accepts that shutting down Vardy is a key element in neutralising Leicester’s overall threat.

“As a full-back, you always have to be aware of where he is,” said Yedlin, who has established himself as Sunderland’s first-choice right-back in recent weeks ahead of Billy Jones. “He likes to get into spots where you are not used to being.

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IN FORM: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy

“That’s why we have to be on our sharpest game and we have to be focused for the whole match. The whole Leicester thing is an unbelievable story, but it’s obviously one we are going to try and put a dent in this weekend.”

Sunderland’s need for points is obvious given their position in the relegation zone, four points adrift of 17th-placed Norwich City, yet Yedlin also has another reason to covet a victory this weekend.

His parent club, Tottenham, are Leicester’s closest rivals, and a Sunderland win on Sunday could blow the title race wide open a matter of minutes before Spurs entertain Manchester United at White Hart Lane.

Yedlin remains in close contact with a number of his Tottenham team-mates – most notably former Sunderland loanee Danny Rose – and while his focus is on helping Sunderland secure safety, he has been discussing Spurs’ title prospects with his colleagues in North London.

Ideally, he would love to see Tottenham claim the title, although like the majority of the country, he has also been caught up in the romance of Leicester’s surprise surge up the league.

“Talking to a lot of the players here, they’ve been saying that if Leicester win the title, it will probably be one of those stories they end up making a movie out of,” said Yedlin. “It’s a great story.

“You have to give credit to them, they have had an unbelievable season. They've played very well, kept it tight at the back and scored goals.

“It's definitely going to be one of our most challenging games, but we can’t focus on them. We have to focus on ourselves right now because we have to get out of trouble. We have to get these three points any way we can.”

That will mean breaking down Leicester’s defence, something Southampton, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Watford have all failed to do in the Foxes’ last four games.

“They’re very difficult to break down, and they’ve shown that,” said Yedlin. “They’ve kept four clean sheets in a row now so we are going to have to be on our sharpest game against them.”

Sunderland’s last four games have all ended in a draw, with Saturday’s point against West Brom following similar results against Newcastle, Southampton and Crystal Palace.

Sam Allardyce’s side have performed well in the majority of those matches, but late concessions proved costly against Southampton and Newcastle, while the inspired form of Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster frustrated them last weekend.

Had the Black Cats turned a couple of those draws into victories, they would have been level on points with Norwich, but while their failure to win since February’s home game with Manchester United is a source of huge frustration, the standard of their recent performances remains a source of solace.

“We all know the situation, but we have seen how our performances have been lately,” said Yedlin. “It’s given us confidence to see that we can compete.

“Out of our last few games, I think we should have had a lot more points than we’ve got. It’s one thing to say it and another to do it though - we have to win games.”