Tottenham-Manchester City is a match valid for the 22nd day of the Premier League and is played on Sunday at 17:30: TV, formations, predictions.
Leader Arsenal has fallen. It did it yesterday in the most unthinkable place, Goodison Park, against an Everton in full crisis and forced to exonerate Frank Lampard last Monday.
The defeat – totally unexpected – of the Gunners is obviously an invitation to Manchester City, who now have a golden opportunity to reduce the wide gap from the first in the class, of five points. But it could be even more, as the Londoners have played one match less than Haaland and co. Pep Guardiola’s men – who made a surprise decision during the last transfer market to deprive themselves of Joao Cancelo, who moved to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga – are on the scene in London in Sunday’s migrating match, against Tottenham, who only a fortnight ago came back from 0-2 down to 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in one of the most exciting and spectacular matches of this championship. The Catalan coach will have to dispel a significant taboo, bearing in mind that he has never managed to get the better of Spurs since they have played in their new stadium.
Guardiola and that Spurs taboo
After that electrifying challenge, Manchester City brought home two more victories: the first against Wolverhampton, overwhelmed by a Haaland hat-trick; the second in the FA Cup, where a week ago they prevailed against Arsenal, beaten 1-0 thanks to a goal from Dutch defender Aké. A crucial success from a psychological point of view.
Conte and Guardiola
Tottenham, on the other hand, immediately reacted to that terrible defeat, winning the derby against Fulham (0-1) and solving Preston’s practice in the FA Cup (0-3) without any problems. Yesterday’s games also gave Antonio Conte and his men a little help: Manchester United won but Newcastle, who did not go beyond a draw against West Ham at St James’ Park, stopped. In the event of a victory against City, Spurs, currently fifth, would move to within one point of the Magpies, reviving the fight for fourth place. The squad strengthening campaign demanded by Conte was virtually limited to Dutch striker Danjuma, who arrived from Villarreal, and Spanish right-back Pedro Porro, formerly of Sporting Lisbon, who could start immediately.
The Prediction
LGuardiola should be able to break the curse that curiously sees him always losing at this stadium by securing a vital victory to stay in touch with Arsenal. His Manchester City has appeared on the upswing in recent games: beating the Gunners in the cup was important, especially on a mental level. It cannot be said that Tottenham is also bursting with health and the two successes against Fulham and Preston are not conclusive tests to understand if the negative moment is behind them. It may be of little use, but Spurs should sell their skins in this match. Which, like the one on 19 January, should see both teams score.
The Tottenham-Manchester City line-up probables
- TOTTENHAM (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Pedro Porro, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Aké; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
