Tottenham – Manchester City

Tottenham and Manchester City are capable of producing a high-scoring encounter

The first-round match between Manchester City and Tottenham was to be played in September. At the time, both clubs were unbeaten in the league and ranked among the Premier League favourites. In honor of the death of the Queen, the match did not take place on the scheduled date, but was played a fortnight ago and became crucial for Guardiola's team. Manchester City were taking the field at the Etihad after a sensational League Cup exit from Southampton and a painful defeat in the Mancunian derby. Two Tottenham goals in the first half shocked the Citizens' fans. A third defeat in a row would likely have sealed Manchester City's championship ambitions. In the second half, however, the Mancunians came out fighting like they were in their last ditch effort, scoring four unanswered goals to give Spurs a 4-2 win. After the aforementioned willful victory, Manchester City got back on track in the flow of the season. First at the Etihad, they crushed inconvenient Wolverhampton (3-0), followed by a 3-0 defeat of the already principle Arsenal in the FA Cup. Manchester City are second in the table ahead of Tottenham, five points adrift of the Canaries and one game more to play. The visitors' main defender John Stones will not be available for the match against Spurs due to injury. Foden's appearance is questionable. Tottenham are sitting in fifth place in the table, three points behind the teams from the Champions League zone. While the rivals have played one match less. The London club will retain this position not because of their good play but because the group of teams behind them, including Liverpool and Chelsea, are quite far from the notion of stability. Spurs played five games in the Premier League in January, three of which they lost: to Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa. In other words, Tottenham have absolutely no outstanding game, despite a decent squad and a good coach at the helm. It is worth noting that a fortnight ago, Manchester City won, first and foremost, a psychological victory over their rivals, showing them that they can pull themselves out of any situation. Including from a two-goal deficit in just half time. Tottenham would lack the class to score at least one point.