Kick-off time: 4:30 p.m. GMT / 11:30 a.m. ET
Live stream: FuboTV (USA), FuboTV (Canada), SkySports (UK)
We preview the Premier League battle between Tottenham and Manchester City, including our supercomputer’s pre-match prediction for this clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Quick Hits
Manchester City to complete first league double over Spurs since 2018-19.
City’s high press to cause Spurs all sorts of problems.
Harry Kane with a chance to hit 200th Premier League goals faster than Alan Shearer.
Match Preview
By the time Manchester City kick off in north London this Sunday, they could once again find themselves eight points behind in the league table to leaders Arsenal. While they’ll be silently praying for some Sean Dyche wizardry to help cut that deficit, deep down City know they’ll have to be close to perfect from here on out to overhaul Arsenal’s lead.
A shame then that they visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to meet Spurs this weekend, a ground to which Pep Guardiola has lost all four of his visits in all competitions. In fact, he’s managed more away matches here without winning than at any other ground in his managerial career.
It’s become a bit of a running joke just how much Spurs are City’s bogey team, but recent league history really doesn’t do the Citizens any favours. They have lost their last three away league games against Tottenham by an aggregate score of 5-0. Only twice in the Premier League have they lost four in a row without scoring away against an opponent – against Chelsea between 2006 and 2009, and Sunderland between 2010 and 2013.
It’s hard to imagine Tottenham being added to that list, but there is something about the way Antonio Conte’s side set up that is tailor-made to frustrate City. Guardiola’s 1.54 points per game average against Tottenham in the Premier League is far lower than his 2.34 average overall.
Tottenham come into this game off the back of two away wins – a 1-0 win over Fulham last time out in the league, before a morale-boosting 3-0 win in the FA Cup against Preston, notable for a Heung-Min Son brace.
But at home, Hugo Lloris and his back line have been sloppy defensively and have conceded at least twice in each of their last five Premier League home matches. And as we’ll come onto, they’ve also tellingly conceded the first goal in each of those five games, last doing so in six straight home league games between April-September 2003. Spurs’ last home clean sheet came before the World Cup in a 2-0 win over Everton in October, over 100 days ago.
Rather neatly, Conte and Guardiola’s overall head-to-head record in the Premier League is identical. They’ve met each other six times, winning three games apiece, and both scoring 10 goals.
That record won’t change this weekend with reports emerging that Conte is set to spend a period of time away from football to recover from gallbladder surgery. Cristian Stellini looks set to take charge in his absence.
94.605 SRY