Man City vs Tottenham Preview and Betting Tip

After all the drama with the Super League this week, the EFL Cup Final feels like something of an afterthought. Two of the teams that were involved in the breakaway will feature at Wembley, Man City and Spurs. Unsurprisingly, The Citizens are hot favourites to get the win in 90 minutes at odds of 1/2. Spurs are as big as 11/2 while the draw is priced up at 15/4. Man City vs Tottenham kicks off at 4.30pm on Sunday at Wembley, check out Dave Stevos’ preview and betting tip below.

Foden On Fire

They may have blown their chances of a historic quadruple by losing in the FA Cup, but Man City and Pep Guardiola will be desperate to keep their hopes of a treble alive at Wembley. They should be extremely tough to beat on Sunday if they play to their full potential. Yes, they will likely be without the injured Kevin De Bruyne and the suspended John Stones, but they should still have enough in their locker to take care of business against this Tottenham team.

However, City haven’t been at their best for the past couple of weeks. They have lost 2 of their last 4 games, that FA Cup clash with Chelsea and a 2-1 reversal against 10-man Leeds. They had to come back from 1-0 down vs Villa in midweek too. That fightback was inspired by Phil Foden, arguably one of the best players in the country at the moment.

The young Englishman has started to show why Guardiola has had so much faith in him. He works hard off the ball but it is his magic when in possession that sets him apart. He has scored 3 goals in City’s last 5 games and he now has 14 in all competitions. Foden is more than a goalscorer though, he can also beat a man and he has a great range of passing too, as is evidenced by his 9 assists this season. If Spurs are to have any hope of winning this match, they’ll have to find a way to stop Foden.

Spurs In Turmoil

Daniel Levy was very smart with the timing of the sacking of Jose Mourinho. The world was distracted by the Super League when the news broke on Monday but I don’t think anyone was too surprised to hear that Jose was gone. The writing had been on the wall at Spurs since the backend of last season and to be honest, I thought that Levy would have pulled the trigger sooner on The Toxic One.

Rookie Ryan Mason will be in charge for Sunday’s final and what a task he has ahead of him. He led the side to a narrow 2-1 win vs Southampton in his first game in charge, ending a three game winless run. They had to do it minus top-scorer Harry Kane, and they may have to do without the striker again on Sunday due to an ankle issue. Ben Davies and Matt Doherty will also likely be missing with injury.

On the face of it, this looks like a huge task for Tottenham. When these two teams last met in February, The Citizens cruised to a 3-0 win. Spurs had managed to avoid defeat in the three previous meetings (W2 D1) so they won’t go into the game completely devoid of hope. If they can keep City at bay for the first hour, they will fancy their chances of nicking a winner. However, they have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven games, so that may be easier said than done.

Man City vs Tottenham Roads To The Final

It is pretty safe to say that Man City have had a tougher route to this final. They have come through three successive away ties, including a quarter final at Arsenal and a semi-final at fierce rivals Man Utd. Tottenham, on the other hand, only played three games and just one of those was against Premier League opposition. They needed penalties to get past Arsenal and then they followed up with wins at Stoke and at home vs Brentford.    

Man City vs Tottenham Betting Tip

I think this is a game that City will win. They simply have too much ammunition for Spurs. Even without De Bruyne, Pep can call on Gundogan, Sterling, Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Torres and that man Foden.

Guardiola’s men have failed to keep a clean sheet for the last six games though and even if Kane is missing, the likes of Son and Bale are capable of getting on the scoresheet for Tottenham. So, I’ll be having a bet on Man City to win in 90 minutes and both teams to score at odds of 5/2 with Betfair.

Man City vs Tottenham Tips: Man City to win in 90 mins and both teams to score @ 5/2 Betfair

Key Quotes – Man City vs Tottenham

Pep Guardiola –  On Phil Foden: “He is growing, this guy is growing. He’s making steps forward every time. His influence in our game is massive right now. He’s so aggressive without the ball. He’s becoming a serious player. His influence in the final third is so important.”

Ryan Mason – “With Harry, it is just about taking it each day as it comes. We know he is doing absolutely everything he can to be back out on the football pitch. On Wednesday he wasn’t but hopefully by the end of the week we will know a bit more about that.”

Dave Stevos