Coming out of one of their most shocking Premier league defeats in recent memory, Manchester City now await a greatly rejuvenated Tottenham Hotspur for their weekend clash at the Etihad stadium. City have lost 2 of their last three outings and the last one was a real bruising of 0-4 at the hands of Everton away at Goodison Park. Despite a 70 per cent possession rate and 13 attempts on goal, Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling & co.could not find the back of the net and the manner in which Otamendi, Stones and Clichy capitulated at the back against Everton’s counter-attacks doesn’t bode well when they come up against the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min.Harry Kane is currently on the top of his game and his hat-trick in his side’s 4-0 win over West Brom takes his season’s tally to 15. Delle Alli with 11 and Son Heung-min with 8 have also been among the goals and will definitely look to add to their tally at the Etihad on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side that went deep into the season with a mindset that was more bent on saving goals rather than getting them, have become very prolific scorers of late. While their first 13 outings fetched them just 19 goals, their last 8 matches have seen the Lillywhites get as many as 24, which is an astonishing rate of 3 goals per game. Their goal difference of 29 is just one short of table toppers Chelsea’s 30.
For Spurs, injury woes have cropped up in the form of Erik Lamela with a problematic hip and an ankle injury for Jan Vertonghen in the West Brom game last weekend. Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies look likely replacements for Saturday’s night clash. Pochettino will probably stick to the 3-4-2-1 formation that has brought him much success of late and not make any changes in his starting XI.
Guardiola will be in a real quandary going into the Etihad clash as the eleven he has chosen in his last few games is the strongest possible line-up he could come up with and can do no better than this. Sergio Aguero & co. will have to get him goals, plain and simple. City have found the back of the net just once from their last three outings.Getting one against a Tottenham side that has conceded only 4 from their last 8 games will be real challenge.
Manchester City desperately need a win at the Etihad and worm their way back into the Top four having been nudged out of it for the first time in the season. Tottenham will want to secure their 2nd spot on the table with a positive result and their wins in all their previous three outings against City coupled with their recent brilliant form will give them oodles of confidence going into the 21 January clash. However bookmakers are betting on a Man City turnaround and their home advantage and the odds mentioned below seem to mirror such a line of thinking.
Recommended Tip: Tottenham to win, Best Odds 13/5