Manchester City will be determined to get back to winning ways as they face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola will especially be motivated about beating Ange Postecoglou’s side, considering City have lost consecutive games against Real Madrid and Liverpool coupled with the fact that his side lost 4-0 to Spurs in the reverse fixture.
However, Manchester City will have a hard task on their hands as they face the Lilywhites, considering they have won back-to-back fixtures against Manchester United and Ipswich Town.
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Furthermore, the Sky Blues have a forgettable record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — winning there just twice in eight outings.
What will motivate Pep Guardiola and this Manchester City squad is that both those victories emerged last season — in the FA Cup and the Premier League — which could suggest they are well over their hoodoo in North London.
Ahead of the contest, the team news for City is mostly concerning, with a glimmer of hope surrounding Erling Haaland’s fitness.
Manchester City team news vs Tottenham
Firstly, Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain injured — two players who could potentially have even deemed Manchester City as the overwhelming favourites to beat Tottenham.
Furthermore, John Stones and Manuel Akanji have been ruled out due to their respective injuries for several months and are sidelined from their side’s upcoming contest in N17 as well.
Abdukodir Khusanov has impressed Manchester City fans, who will be available to start alongside some of City’s others centre-backs such as Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol.
But whether Haaland, who looked dejected against Liverpool will start against Tottenham is a question that could potentially dictate which teams wins the much-awaited game.
In his latest press conference via Manchester City’s official YouTube channel, Pep Guardiola revealed that he will only discover the Norwegian’s chances of starting on Tuesday, admitting he hopes the star striker does, saying: “Tonight, we will know after the training, hope so but I don’t know yet.”
However, Guardiola did state that Haaland is in better shape than he was before: “Feels better but the last two games, could not play, we will see tomorrow.”
Erling Haaland to start and Kevin De Bruyne to be benched vs Tottenham
Ederson Moraes is expected to start in between the sticks against Tottenham unless Pep Guardiola decides to give Stefan Ortega another go in goal like he did a few months ago.
While at right-back, Rico Lewis was one of Manchester City’s few bright sparks against Liverpool and he could keep his place in the side.
At centre-back, Khusanov’s dominant display against Arne Slot’s side could mean he starts against Spurs as well, with Dias potentially taking Ake’s place as the latter came off the bench on Sunday. If the Dutchman is instructed to watch the game from the sidelines, Gvardiol will be deployed at left-back as he usually does.
In midfield, Nico Gonzalez has become Pep Guardiola’s go-to man in the number six role and it seems unlikely that he will be benched. However, Guardiola questioned Kevin De Bruyne’s physicality and for that reason alone, he could name the Belgian on the bench in what is expected to be a high-octane affair against Tottenham — with Ilkay Gundogan potentially taking his place.
Ian Wright slated Phil Foden’s display against Liverpool as a false nine and considering he did struggle, the Englishman could play as a number 10 once again when he locks horns with Spurs. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola lauded Savinho and Jeremy Doku for their respective showings against the Reds and they could retain their places in the wide areas this season.
Finally, Omar Marmoush could lose his place to Haaland, considering Guardiola opened the door to the possibility of him starting Manchester City’s next game.
Manchester City predicted line-up vs Tottenham: Ederson, Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, Nico, Gundogan, Foden, Savinho, Haaland, Doku
