Big Match Breakdown: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
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Latest betting and odds for Premier League clash
Manchester City will return to the summit of the Premier League with victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium this evening.
The 8/15 title favourites were deposed from top spot over the weekend following victories for Liverpool and Chelsea. Three points for Spurs would move them above the Citizens into second and leave them just two points adrift of the Reds at the top.
Who will prevail live from 8pm on Sky Sports Main Event? We’ve previewed the clash with a Big Match Breakdown.
Head-to-Head
Since their first competitive meeting in 1909, Man City and Spurs are at level pegging with 60 wins apiece in this fixture. While the North Londoners won three on the bounce from 2015 to 2016, City are now unbeaten in a hat-trick of matches against their title rivals.
The Citizens prevailed 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium last term, before Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling set Pep Guardiola’s men on their way to a 3-1 win at Wembley in April.
Likely XIs
Mauricio Pochettino has no new injury concerns, with Dele Alli and Danny Rose both closing in on a return to the side. The former could feature instead of Son Heung-Min, while Harry Winks may return in place of Mousa Dembele alongside Eric Dier.
Pep Guardiola is expected to alter the side which saw off Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Vincent Kompany should all be recalled. Kevin de Bruyne started his first match since the World Cup Third Place Play-Off last week – he’ll keep his spot in midfield.
Key Battles
The key for Tottenham in this match is to contain City early on. Whenever Guardiola’s men have been allowed to take a foothold in this fixture, they’ve routed their opponents. That means Pochettino’s side need to hold their concentration and cut out the silly errors which have blighted their performances in recent weeks.
Dier et al will need to be watertight in their positions, while Serge Aurier and Ben Davies must measure their attacking instincts to restrict Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker. The pace of Sterling has cause Spurs plenty of problems in recent years – he and Silva pose contrasting but equally menacing threats.
Match Odds
City are the 4/6 favourites to win their third match in a row. Spurs are 15/4 shots, with only a third draw in this fixture since 2004 available at 3/1.
Our traders have Aguero down to edge the battle of the strikers. The Argentine is 19/20 to Score Anytime, with Kane slightly further back at 7/5. Sterling netted three times against Tottenham last season and is a 6/4 shot to bag again here.
The Citizens are making a habit of scoring early this season. After taking the lead inside 30 minutes in four of their last six Premier League matches, we go 2/1 about City to be ahead by the half-hour mark. They’re 21/10 to win and Both Teams to Score.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
