MY ACCOUNT
– Tottenham have lost four of their last five home games in the Premier League
– Man City have won three games on the bounce, including a 4-2 win over Spurs
– Recommended bet: City to win
Manchester City will be hoping to keep themselves within reaching distance of table-toppers Arsenal when they make the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to face top-four chasing Tottenham.
City needed a superb second-half performance to clinch a 4-2 victory at home to Spurs last month and they will be hoping for a much more complete display when they take on Antonio Conte’s men in a vital Premier League clash in north London.
Spurs were unable to build on an excellent first-half effort at the Etihad Stadium but they have responded with a pair of away wins, including last Saturday’s 3-0 success at Preston in the FA Cup fourth round.
Team news
Tottenham will be without their manager, Conte, who is recovering from a gallbladder operation, but they are boosted by the deadline-day signing of right wingback Pedro Porro from Sporting Lisbon.
Porro is expected to go straight into the side and there has been good news on the injury front with Richarlison fully recovered from a minor muscle strain and Lucas Moura (calf) and Pape Sarr (hip) pushing to be involved after returning to training.
City are looking strong with Phil Foden returning to training after a minor foot problem.
Their only absentee is defender John Stones, who faces three to four weeks out with a thigh strain.
The stats
Tottenham have struggled in the big matches this season — losing each of the five games against teams positioned above them in the table.
However, they have defeated City in all of the four fixtures played between them at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
City are on a three-game winning run which started with last month’s home triumph over Spurs, but they have lost their last two away games.
Pep Guardiola’s side are the Premier League’s top scorers with 53 goals, including 25 from Erling Haaland.
Prediction
City are having to work hard to stay on Arsenal’s coat-tails and they can pass another significant test by defeating Tottenham in the capital.
Guardiola’s men will be respectful of Spurs, who did the double over them last season and had looked on course for another victory when establishing a 2-0 half-time lead at the Etihad last month.
However, City’s stunning second-half recovery earned them a thrilling victory and is sure to have lodged in the minds of Spurs players, who have suffered a series of setbacks in high profile matches this season.
Tottenham’s failure to compete in fixtures against the top clubs is massively impacting on their Champions League qualification hopes and it could mean that they lack the belief to secure a positive result this weekend.
They have some outstanding attacking players and should be even more of a threat after Heung-Min Son’s confidence-boosting double in the FA Cup victory at Preston.
But the back three for Spurs have looked unconvincing and their defensive struggles are highlighted by the absence of any clean sheets from their last five Premier League home games.
Tottenham’s lack of resilience was seized upon in a breathtaking 45 minutes at the Etihad and could allow Guardiola’s title chasers to secure another crucial three points in north London.
