Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Defending Premier League champions Manchester City and top-four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur go head-to-head in a high-stakes Premier League contest.

Manchester City’s bid to defend the Premier League crown took another hit at the weekend as Manchester United came from behind to beat Pep Guardiola’s side 2-1, leaving them eight points adrift of pacesetters Arsenal. At the risk of falling as low as fourth at the end of next weekend, the ‘Cityzens’ aim for revenge after suffering a league double at the hands of Tottenham last season. However, they come into proceedings winless in back-to-back home league fixtures (D1, L1) and could go three straight top-flight matches at the Etihad without winning for the first time since 2016. But it’s worth noting that before those two results, Man City had won their first seven Premier League home games this season, averaging 4.14 goals per match.

On the other hand, visiting Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby at the weekend, losing further ground on fourth-placed Man Utd. Antonio Conte’s men have only won once in their last four Premier League outings (D1, L2), falling five points behind Man Utd, who hold a game in hand. Encouragingly for ‘Spurs,’ they’ve netted nine goals on their three most recent top-flight travels, including a 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace last time out. That bodes well for Tottenham’s hopes of making history this midweek by becoming the first club to win three consecutive league encounters against a side managed by Guardiola. Adding to their confidence, the visitors have recorded four victories in their last five Premier League meetings with Man City (L1).