EPL Matchday Preview: Man City vs Tottenham

EPL Matchday Analysis: Manchester City vs Tottenham

Manchester City continue their unstoppable march to yet another Premier League title as they face off against London side Tottenham Hotspurs.

Sitting comfortably at the top of the Premier League table with 63 points and a commanding 9 point lead over second placed Liverpool, the Premier League title is Liverpool’s to lose.

City are on a 4 game win streak in all competitions, including a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese capital, making the second leg of their round of 16 tie at the Etihad stadium seem like a formality.

City became the first team in Champions League history to lead an away knockout match by four goals at the break after a brace from Bernardo Silva and strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden.

Raheem Sterling added a sublime fifth after the interval as City racked up the joint-biggest winning margin in a Champions League knockout game.

It was also the Premier League champions’ biggest ever win in an away game in any round of the competition.

Tottenham go into Sunday’s game under contrasting circumstances. 3 Premier League losses in a row to Wolves, Southampton, and Chelsea have seen the top 4 hopefuls slip down to 8th on the Premier League rankings.

While they have played only 22 games this season, giving them 3 games in hand over 4th placed Manchester United, the Spurs’ recent struggles could very well nullify any advantage they may currently hold.

Man City are expected to welcome Kyle Walker back into their starting XI for this match, with the England international missing out against Sporting in the Champions League through suspension. The Citizens could also have Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus in the squad following recent injury problems, but neither player is expected to start, with Mahrez, Foden and Sterling set to feature as the front three.

As for Tottenham, Eric Dier is back in first-team training and is expected to feature in the starting XI on Saturday, but Japhet Tanganga is definitely out, while Oliver Skipp remains a major doubt.

Despite their recent run of poor form, a top 4 finish is within reach of Antonio Conte’s men, and this Sunday’s match at the Etihad not only has enormous implications for the top 4 race, but for the Premier League title race as well.

With 25 games played in the Premier League this season, Manchester City has only lost 2 of those matches.  One of those games was against Tottenham, who defeated the Citizens 1-0 back in August 2021.

With Manchester City on a roll, however, there is no reason to even consider a repeat of their previous meeting this time. Even Antonio Conte has been critical of his squad’s performances, and there is talk that the Italian could be on his way to the exit, shall these performances continue.

With current form and morale at an all time low, Tottenham is almost certain to lose this game and slip down further in the race for the top 4.

Our verdict is a 3-0 victory for Manchester City.