Man City vs Tottenham: Match Preview
Manchester City takes on Tottenham on Saturday as we enter round 22 of the Premier League.
Spurs are flying at the moment as they travel to Manchester with a six-match winning streak which includes a win over the leaders Chelsea. While Tottenham will look to continue their winning run and push for the title, Pep Guardiola’s men will focus on bouncing back from the humiliating 4–0 loss at Goodison Park last week.
Details
Match : Manchester City vs Tottenham
Date : 12 January, Saturday
Time : 5:30 GMT
Referee : Andre Marriner
Stadium : Etihad Stadium
Form
Man City : WLWWL
Tottenham : WWWWW
Team News
Tottenham:
Jan Vertonghen, arguably Premier League best defender this season will be out for at least 5–6 weeks after damaging his ankle in the 4–0 win against West Brom. This may pave way for Kevin Wimmer or Ben Davies if Pochettino continues with the 3–4–2–1 formation.
Argentine winger Erik Lamela is also set to miss the match as the 24-year-old is still struggling with match fitness after the hip injury.
Man City:
Pep Guardiola will finally have Gabriel Jesus for selection, however, the Brazilian is unlikely to be in the starting eleven. Midfielder Fernandinho is banned and will be missing the game.Fernando will be in contention after missing out at Goodison Park last week. Sane, who returned at Goodison last week could be an option for Pep to start out wide.
Skipper Vincent Kompany is nearing his return from injury while Ilkay Gundogan is definitely out with injury.
When they last met..
The sides last met in early October, which saw Spurs completely outplaying Man City in a comfortable 2–0 win for Pochettino’s men. The game started at a frenetic pace and Spurs took an early lead after Kolarov diverted the ball into his own net, struggling to clear Rose’s cross. Deli Alli doubled the lead at the 37th minute with a close range finish. Although City dominated the possession, they were unable to create any chances as the match ended in a 2–0 win for the Spurs.
Key Battles
Wanyama vs De Bruyne:
Kevin De Bruyne has been in scintillating form this season. The Belgian has directly contributed 11 of City’s 41 goals, with nine assist and two goals. Wanyama, who joined Tottenham from Southampton last summer has been rock at the midfield for Spurs this season, doing all the dirty work in midfield.
Wanyama will look to contain the Belgian and this battle could well be the decider of the mouthwatering clash.
Kane vs Stones:
City’s defense has been leaking goals throughout the season, their centre-backs Otamendi and Stones consistently underperforming in pressure. Skipper Kompany’s absence has been evident for City. Harry Kane scored a hat-trick against West Brom last week and the centre-forward would look to continue his scoring form against Man City.
Marking an in-form Kane will be a daunting task for young centre-back John Stones.
Probable Line-up
Man City ( 4–2–3–1 )
Bravo — Kolarov Stones Otamendi Zabaleta — Toure Fernando — Silva DeBruyne Sterling — Aguero
Tottenham ( 3–4–2–1 )
Lloris — Dier Alderweireld Davies — Walker Wanyama Dembele Rose — Eriksen Alli — Kane
Prediction
Man City 1–2 Tottenham
The game would be tricky and captivating. Any mistake from either side could well be the decider of the match. With Man City being a more error prone side, Tottenham certainly has a better chance of winning it.
A 2–1 victory for the Spurs could be on the cards.
