Man City vs Spurs Preview and Betting Tip

We were out of luck in the FA Cup on Tuesday night. I expected goals but Man Utd and West Ham didn’t read the script. It was a stinker of a match that finished 0-0 after extra time. Utd needed a goal from Scott McTominay to see them through to the quarter-finals to face Leicester. The spotlight returns to the Premier League this weekend and Man City vs Spurs is the big match of the game week. It kicks off at 5.30pm and you can watch all the action unfold live on Sky Sports.

City come into this match in red-hot form. They have won 15 matches in a row and they cruised to a comfortable 3-1 win at Swansea in midweek. Spurs, on the other hand, played 120 minutes on Wednesday night against Everton. They eventually lost 5-4 and that was their 4th defeat in the last 5 games in all competitions. Will The Citizens continue marching towards the title, or can Tottenham turn their season around?

City In Cruise Control

Manchester City continued their record-breaking run with a 3-1 FA Cup win at Swansea. That made it 15 victories on the bounce and they are as short as 1/3 with some firms to keep the run going on Saturday. Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack in midweek and his main men should be relatively fresh coming into this game. Sterling and Gundogan played for less than an hour, while Phil Foden only came on for the last 25 minutes. Stones and Dias sat the game out completely so there should be no issues with fatigue for The Citizens.

City made a massive statement in their last EPL outing by winning 4-1 at Anfield. However, the scoreline is not a true reflection of how the match transpired. There was nothing in it really up until the 70th minute when a trio of howlers by Alisson gifted City a 4-1 win. Gundogan (2), Sterling and Foden got the goals and the win sent City 5 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

City will be without De Bruyne, Aguero, Ake and Fernandinho on Saturday. On the plus side, both Rodri and Dias are available for selection. Along with John Stones, those two have been an integral part of City’s much improved defensive record. Going forward City should be fine, even without De Bruyne and Aguero. Gundogan (who has scored  goals in his last 6 games), Foden, Sterling and Jesus have stepped up in their absence.

spurs to defend in numbers

Spurs produced one of the most un-Jose like performances you are likely to see at Goodison Park. There was no sign of any buses being parked as both sides went toe-to-toe in what turned out to be a 9 goal thriller. Is this the dawn of a new era of attack-minded football for Jose? I doubt it because as the result showed, Tottenham are too weak defensively to be able to commit so many players to attack. Mourinho will undoubtedly revert to a more defensive approach on Saturday.

The return of Harry Kane from injury has provided a timely boost for Tottenham. He made a big difference in Spurs’ 2-0 win vs West Brom, scoring the opener. His telepathic relationship with Son is the best chance the visitors have of prising open the water-tight City defence. Reguilon and Aurier are both injury doubts and that could mean another outing for Matt Doherty. He will need to improve hugely on his recent performances if he is to handle the threat of Raheem Sterling.

The curious case of Gareth Bale took another twist during the week. Jose Mourinho reported that the Welsh winger had an injury that ‘surprised’ him and wasn’t ‘obvious’. He is unlikely to feature but even if he was fit, he would probably be warming the bench. I can see Mourinho starting with 3 centre backs with Doherty and Davies on the wings. Ndombele and Hojbjerg are also near certain starters, along with Son and Kane. Bergwijn and Lamela will probably fight it out for the final starting spot. If they can stop City scoring early, the belief will grow that they can win this game. 

Can City End Tottenham Hoodoo?

Jose Mourinho’s side has had the upper hand in recent matches between these two sides. They are unbeaten in the last 3 games against City, winning the last two meetings 2-0 at their own stadium. The last time they travelled to The Etihad it finished 2-2, but that was under Pochettino. Overall, Pep does have a good record vs Mourinho. They have met 24 times as managers with Guardiola winning 11, drawing 6 and losing 7.

Man City vs Spurs: Recent Premier League Head-To-Head

Will it weigh heavily on City’s minds that they have failed to find the net in the last 180 minutes against Mourinho’s Tottenham? It could do, especially if Spurs can hold out for the first hour. However, they are not playing with the same belief as they were for the last two meetings and that is not ideal coming into a match against a City team that is in such scintillating form.

Pep Guardiola’s side will simply go about their business as they usually do. They will rely on players like Sterling, Silva, Foden and Gundogan to provide the cutting edge in attack. There is no doubt that they have the talent to cause Spurs all sorts of problems if they are firing on all cylinders. An early goal would be huge for City and I can see them starting fast to try and get one.

Tottenham Look Overpriced

I thought that Mourinho’s reign at Spurs was entering its closing stages after their 1-0 defeat vs Chelsea. However, their 2-0 win vs West Brom was mildly encouraging and even though they lost 5-4, they showed great spirit and belief to fight back a number of times in that FA Cup classic vs Everton on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, this game is unlikely to be another 9 goal thriller. In the last two meetings, both won 2-0 by Spurs, City had 67% possession and couldn’t break Spurs down. Yes, The Citizens have won 15 matches in a row and are unbeaten since that defeat but they have struggled to open up stubborn Sheffield Utd and Brighton defences during that run. They also needed a dodgy VAR decision to get that vital first goal vs Aston Villa.

If Spurs apply themselves properly they are more than capable of keeping City at bay and nicking a goal on the counter through either Kane or Son. I think they look a shade overpriced given their excellent recent record vs Man City and I am backing the away win at odds of 9.55 on the Betfair Exchange.

Man City vs Spurs Tip: Tottenham to win @ 9.55 Betfair Exchange

Key Quotes – Man City vs Spurs

Pep Guardiola: “We are not unbeatable. The 15 games in a row winning doesn’t help us to start 2-0 up before the start of the game. I said many times it is nice and helps us to be where we are in the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Champions League and especially the Premier League. But no more than that.”

Jose Mourinho: (on Gareth Bale) – “I repeat for the last time. Gareth was not feeling good. He asked for a scan. He had a scan. The scan did not show an injury but his feelings were still there but as coaches, medical people we can never go against the player feelings. So he was not ready for the game. It’s as simple as that.

Dave Stevos