Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City preview
It’s been a season of under performances for both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in the Premier League. While Guardiola’s men have faltered on more than one occasion as they try to keep pace with league leaders Arsenal, Tottenham have played some of the most disjointed football in recent times.
The Cityzens have found a perfect successor for Sergio Kun Aguero in Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has been on a rampage scoring 25 goals, nine more than second-placed Harry Kane. In the assists department, Kevin de Bruyne leads the way creating 11 goals for his teammates.
However, apart from that, few players have stepped up to the plate. On top of that, they have also allowed their most experienced full-back, Joao Cancelo, to leave on loan to Bayern Munich. This leaves them with a thin depth in the full-back department, which could bite them if injuries hit them at the wrong time.
On the other hand, Tottenham have also failed to find consistency taking only four points from their last five Premier League games. This included their loss at home to Arsenal and Aston Villa, which has led to questions over Antonio Conte’s tactics. The London outfit are currently three points behind Manchester United, having played a game more.
Injuries have also hampered Tottenham’s progress, with Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung Min missing large parts of the season due to it. And news has also emerged that Conte might leave the club after his contract expires in the summer.
While City are chasing the league leaders, Tottenham are chasing the top four, making this a match with high stakes for both teams. Their last meeting in the league came just two weeks back, where CIty triumphed after coming back from 2-0 down to win the match 4-2.
34 – Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have now both scored in 34 different Premier League games together, overtaking Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as the most of any duo in the competition. Partners. pic.twitter.com/mzMLtEsRKd
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2023
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City team news
The only primary concern for Conte remains Brazilian striker Ricahrlison. The 25-year-old had only made three substitute appearances after coming back from the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to a hamstring injury. In addition, he has also suffered from an adductor injury which means he will only be back in training from next week.
Other than that, Conte has an entirely fit squad with players such as Kulusevski available after a lengthy spell out from the team.
Tottenham Predicted Line-up: Lloris; Davies, Dier, Romero; Perisic, Bentancur, Højbjerg, Emerson; Son, Kulusevski’ Kane
Meanwhile, Manchester City have a completely injury-free squad which will be music to Guardiola’s ears. However, the departure of Cancelo will be a colossal miss even though the Portuguese has been sparingly used since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, the rise of the impressive Sergio Gomez has elevated several concerns for the left-back. Despite this, City have failed to match the standards of Arsenal. The Gunners took all three points when they visited Tottenham, and City will field their strongest side in hopes of doing the same.
Manchester City Predicted Line-up: Ederson; Gomez, Akanji, Dias, Walker; Gundogan, Rodri, Silva; Foden, Haaland, Mahrez
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Key Players
Well, It is hard to look past Harry Kane this season, as he has been their best performer by far. With 15 goals and one assist, he has kept up his form despite the team missing several key players. The Englishman is currently on 199 goals from 303 games and could become only the third player in the league’s Premier League’s history to score 200 goals after Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). Meanwhile, It will be up to Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung Min to ensure they give the ample support required to their captain.
16 – Kevin De Bruyne has provided more assists in all competitions this season than any other player in Europe's top five leagues (16), with seven of these assists resulting in Erling Haaland goals. Blueprint. pic.twitter.com/fpMKWpiRYk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 22, 2023
For Manchester City, too, it is hard to look past Erling Haaland, considering how he has scored goals for fun in the league. The Norwegian is now just seven goals away from equalling Mohamed Salah’s record for most goals in a 38-match season. And with 18 games remaining, Haaland is undoubtedly going to smash the record to pieces barring any injury. Elsewhere, Kevin de Bruyne has done what he does best, creating goals for his teammates and dominating the midfield. And the duo will be the key if they want to come away with three points against Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City predictions
The match holds significance as both teams cannot afford to lose any more points in their respective races. However, Tottenham will be more desperate for a win considering that City have a Champions League campaign to look forward to where they would want to go all the way.
Their last meeting was going Tottenham’s way until an error from Hugo Lloris brought City back into the match. However, with the home crowd advantage, Tottenham would be hard to beat in their backyard.
FootTheBall predicts a 2-2 draw for the match.
