Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur: Match Preview & Prediction

Manchester City are all set to host Tottenham Hotspur in the second-week headline match of the Premier League at Etihad Stadium, tonight.

The starting of the new season was great for the two sides as they both registered a victory in their opening fixture. The Citizens thrashed new-look West Ham United 5-0, while Spurs defeated Aston Villa 3-1 after two quick goals at the end of the match from Harry Kane.

It is never easy to defeat the current Man City side. As Jose Mourinho said in an opening weekend that apart from Man City, Spurs and Liverpool. The fourth team to challenge for the league title can be combined XI of Man City benched players.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side has to play in the same manner as they played in the last season of the Champions League to clinch all three points against the Citizens, tonight.

It won’t be easy, however, for them to produce such a performance as their key players, Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli are sidelined from this fixture. The South Korean is going to serve his last suspension game due to a red card at the end of last season while the Englishman is suffering from an injury.

Man City have won nine out of their last 11 home fixtures against Tottenham in all competitions while Spurs have lost their last six Premier League away games. Also, the Citizens are undefeated in their last 15 league games and have kept a clean sheet in their last five out of six fixtures at home.

Battles to look out for:

Raheem Sterling vs Kyle Walker-Peters

After ending the last season on a high note, Raheem Sterling didn’t fail to impress the City fans in the opening fixture of the new season. The Englishman scored his first hat-trick against West Ham and made it clear to everybody that City is not going to give away the league title easily.

Kyle Walker-Peters, on the other hand, is going to act as a barrier between Sterling and goal. The English defender made three successful tackles along with three clearances in his first match of the season.

According to me, this battle is going to be one-sided as Sterling is in tremendous form and one has to put a big solid rock to stop him from scoring. Walker-Peters is a talented youngster, but he is still far from the level, where he can challenge the English winger and keep him away from the center of the game.

So, I think Sterling will rip apart the English defender and help his side in clinching victory in this crucial fixture.

Aymeric Laporte vs Harry Kane

When Pep Guardiola bought Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao last season. None of us thought that he will become such an important part of the starting XI. Especially, considering that the Citizens had so many talented players for the center-back position.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman proved himself worthy of that spot and now he is the first preference over everybody. The City defender made four interceptions along with three clearances in his opening fixture of the new season.

The Frenchman has a big task lying ahead of him, today. As he will have to stop Harry Kane from scoring a goal or creating any chance of scoring.

Kane scored two late goals in the opening fixture against Aston Villa and with that performance, he suggested that he is not going to keep quiet in this season.

The Englishman has good pace and understanding of the game. Also, his positioning inside the 30-yard-box makes him a lethal striker. It won’t be easy for Laporte to stop Kane from scoring and he will require help from his teammates in keeping the Englishman away from the goal.

Prediction

This is going to be an interesting battle as both the sides have quality players in their squad and are title contenders in the current season.

Manchester City will dominate most of the game as their actual title defense will start from this fixture. If the Citizens lose this fixture, then it will be a big step back for them. Nevertheless, the form Pep Guardiola’s side is in currently, it is not going to be easy for Spurs to defeat them.

Also, with Son and Alli not participating in this fixture. Tottenham will find it hard to keep up with the pace of the Citizens’ squad.

After considering everything, I believe that City will end on top, however, it won’t be a one-sided battle as I’m expecting Spurs to give tough competition to the Citizens.

Predicted score: Manchester City 2 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur