Tottenham Hotspur are looking to pour more misery on Manchester City and end their own two-game losing run when they visit the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League.
Spurs visit Manchester on Sunday following the November international break, allowing supporters time to banish the 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Ipswich Town to the back of their minds. A performance of similar quality will result in a bruising defeat at the Etihad regardless of the Cityzens’ disappointing form.
However, the Lilywhites have often defied expectations in recent meetings with Man City, beating the defending Premier League champions 2-1 in the Carabao Cup fourth round several weeks ago. With Pep Guardiola’s side short on confidence after four straight defeats, Ange Postecoglou’s men will seek to take advantage of any tentativeness.
Here is how Tottenham could line up on Saturday.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – The Italian is likely to be a busy bee in Manchester, especially given injury concerns in the defence. Even at their best, Tottenham concede high-quality chances every single game and that problem will only be exacerbated by Erling Haaland and co.
RB: Pedro Porro – Porro hasn’t managed to have the same creative influence in the final third this season but his chief priority will be denying Man City’s array of sparkling forwards space and time.
CB: Radu Dragusin – With Cristian Romero sidelined for the trip to Manchester, Dragusin will feature in his place. The Romanian endured a torrid afternoon against Ipswich before the international period and must improve against the deadly Haaland.
CB: Ben Davies – With Micky van de Ven also injured, it will be a second-string centre-back pairing against the Cityzens. That could spell huge trouble for the Lilywhites, although Davies does boast plenty of experience.
LB: Destiny Udogie – The Italian only made cameos in clashes with France and Belgium over the international period, offering him some much-needed recovery time after a hectic start to the campaign. Spurs have very little cover for Udogie at left-back.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – Kulusevski has been the man pulling the strings in recent weeks, even displacing James Maddison in the advanced midfield role. He has three goals and four assists against City in seven past meetings.
CM: Yves Bissouma – One of Spurs’ few natural defensive midfielders, Bissouma will need to be on form to handle the likes of Phil Foden and potentially Kevin De Bruyne. He will also need plenty of protection from his more offensive-minded teammates.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr – Sarr scored a delightful goal in the victory over Man City in the Carabao Cup and Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game ban means he will be called upon to shore up the midfield once more.
RW: Brennan Johnson – Johnson’s purple patch form has faded in recent weeks but the Welshman is always a threat racing down the flanks and arriving late at the back post. Josko Gvardiol had a tough time over the international break and won’t find it much easier on Saturday.
ST: Dominic Solanke – Solanke has scored three in his last three outings for Spurs but has drawn a blank in all eight matches against the Cityzens. He will be Spurs’ focal point and must retain the ball when the visitors regain possession.
LW: Son Heung-min – Two goals over the international break will have him purring ahead of Saturday against one of his favourite opposition. Son has grabbed eight goals and four assists in 19 appearances against City.