Manchester City travels to Wembley at the back of three straight defeats and will be hoping to avoid a fourth when they meet Tottenham who are unbeaten since December.
Tottenham Hotspur are in good form ahead of their home clash against Manchester City, as Spurs look to inflict a fourth straight defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side at Wembley. Tottenham are unbeaten in the league since December when they incidentally lost to Manchester City at the Etihad 4-1.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino will be relishing this big battle as Spurs look to cement their place in the top four with a win, as they sit ten points ahead of 5th placed Chelsea on the table. Spurs are also unbeaten in the league at home this season and will be looking to build on that impressive record, as they haven’t lost a home game since the 2015/16 season in the league.
As for Manchester City, a fourth defeat will be a disaaster of sorts and will take the gloss of their eventual title win at some point in the coming weeks. Having been knocked out of the Champions League at the hands of Liverpool and failing to collect the Premier League title against rivals Manchester United, City will be hoping to wrap the award sooner than later.
Despite those defeats, Pep Guardiola’s men have lost only twice in the league this season, and they boast an impressive record against Spurs when they thumped the North London side 4-1 at the Etihad back in December. Midway through this season, there were talks of City winning the quadraple, but are now guaranteed to win only one title this season.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino will be leading an almost full squad against Manchester City this weekend. Talismanic striker and club top-scorer Harry Kane returned to action last week and got himself on the scoresheet under controversial circumstances. He will be available against City and will be hoping to catch up on Mohamed Sala in the golden boot race.
Harry Winks and Danny Rose are doubts for Spurs, as the midfielder is in Qatar for treatment and the left-back has a minor calf complaint. Kyle Walker-Peters is another absentee, but apart from them, Pochettino will have a strong squad to spare.
There have been news of Keiran Trippier missing out as well against City, with fatigue, but without another recognised right-back, Pochettino will likely field the defender this weekend.
Probable Starting-XI (4-2-3-1) – Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s side are facing some issues with injuries and suspensions ahead of the Spurs game. The most notable absentee would be Fernandinho who picked up a 10th yellow card of this season against United and will miss the Spurs’ clash.
Sergio Aguero is also a doubt following a knee complaint after the Liverpool clash this week, meaning Gabriel Jesus could, as expected start up front. Benjamin Mendy remains out with a knee ligament injury while John Stones has an apparent thigh problem which could keep him out too.
Otherwise, Guardiola has a strong squad, but less on morale to face Spurs in the Premier League.
Probable Starting-XI (4-3-3) – Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Laporte; Gundogan, De Bruyne, D.Silva; B. Silva, Sane, Jesus
Key Stats
- Manchester City has won only once in the last five meetings against Spurs.
- Tottenham is on a 14 match unbeaten streak. Incidentally, it was City who beat them last.
- Sergio Aguero has ten goals against Spurs, more than any City player in history
- If City loses this will be the first time since December 2016 that they have lost consecutive games in the league.
Betting Odds
Favourable Bets
1. Tottenham Draw No Bet @ 1.83
2. Over 2.5 Match Goals @ 1.66
3. Harry Kane to score anytime @ 1.83
Underdog Bets
1. Tottenham Half-Time/Full-Time @ 4.33
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
Since he got injured, Harry Kane has seen his top-goalscorer title taken away by storm by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who leads the Premier League charts with 29 goals to Kane’s 25. Kane, however, got back to scoring ways, amid plenty of controversies last week. Against Manchester City, he has the opportunity to go close to Salah and make his mark.
Kane has been Spurs’ top scorer in each of the last three seasons, and this time he would be pumped up to beat Salah in the race for the golden boot.
Prediction
Spurs 2-1 Manchester City
City’s recent slump signifies a lack of belief within the squad, which has genuinely failed to recover from the first-leg defeat to Liverpool. Since then City have faced United, who came from behind to beat them at the Etihad and Liverpool, who did a similar comeback victory.
While City’s morale is down and the Premier League title all but won, Spurs have something to play in this clash. They sit 10 points ahead of Chelsea and are rushing to cement a top-four spot on the table before the season closes.
