Sunday 14th February 2016 Kickoff: 1615hrs Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur Football – England – Premier League
The second of Sunday’s big games, involving teams going for the title, takes place at the Etihad where Manchester City host Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham side. Only one point separate these two clubs but they are coming into this meeting in very different moods, and it promises to be an intriguing encounter.
Last weekend’s defeat at home to Leicester was pretty damning for Manuel Pellegrini’s men. Not only were they well-beaten by a better team on the day, but it’s a defeat that further suggests all is not quite right at Manchester City. The pre-season favourites for the title are now six points adrift of last week’s opponents, which is certainly not insurmountable, but there is no evidence that this group of players have what is required to mount a challenge that will end with them not only leapfrogging the current leaders, but both North London clubs. With Pep Guardiola announced as the Chilean’s replacement for the next three seasons, at least, it is not totally surprising that City are struggling for consistency and failing to reach a standard that should be expected from such a talented (and expensive) squad. Sunday is another opportunity for them to prove they do have the desire and hunger for this challenge.
In contrast to Manchester City, Tottenham could barely be in better mood coming into this game. Having jumped to second in the table, virtue of a better goal difference (Spurs have the best goal difference in the league), optimism is extremely high at White Hart Lane that this could be their year. With so much attention and focus being given to Leicester, Tottenham have been able to go about their business without much notice being afforded to them. However, they currently possess the best defensive record in the league, have scored just two shy of Leicester and Manchester City and lost just three games all season. Some Spurs fans will just be delighted that they are sitting above Arsenal in the league at the moment, but the bigger picture is much more promising. What has been very impressive of late is how they are able to blend grinding out wins with some emphatic victories – and this should not be underestimated. We’re getting to the stage where each game will see the tension increased bit by bit, and the eventual winners have to be able to deal with that – Spurs have proven they are capable of coping with that.
There are probably some City fans who would be quite happy to see the back of this season to usher in the arrival of Guardiola. The other end of that spectrum, however, is the view that they remain involved in four competitions – including a League Cup final at the end of this month – and the season could yet end in glory. Nobody is naive enough to suggest that their current form will be good enough to achieve anything more than one trophy, even if that, but there remains an awful lot of quality in the team. One man who will certainly have to improve is Yaya Toure who has been well below par for much of the campaign. There are rumours that the new manager is not overly keen on building a team around the Ivorian and it could be that the midfielder is already thinking about where his next stop will be.
One of the most refreshing aspects of Tottenham’s impressive season to date has been the role of the younger players in the squad. Harry Kane had a breakthrough campaign last year, of course, but Pochettino has been more than willing to blood others if he feels they are good enough. Deli Ali has been sensational in what is his first season playing at this level, whilst Tom Carroll and Joshua Onomah have also added their contributions. It’s not just the players who have come through the ranks this season that bode well for Spurs’ future, though, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela and Eric Dier have been at the club for at least a couple of seasons, now, and all three are pivotal to the way the manager wishes to play. If Tottenham can keep this squad together and add quality as they go on, there is no reason why they can’t mount a sustained challenge for the title over the next few seasons.
Manchester City v Tottenham Betting Tips
Depending on what happens in the game between Arsenal and Leicester earlier in the day, this could represent a massive chance for either of these two teams to make ground on the league leaders, or it could be hugely detrimental if neither side can get three points should the Foxes be victorious at the Emirates. Six points is the gap between the top four clubs and today’s fixtures will undoubtedly have a bearing on who is favourite come the end of the weekend.
When these two clubs met for the first time this season, back in September at White Hart Lane, Spurs produced a clinical display – running out 4-1 winners. At the time, most put it down to an off day for City and expected them to bounce back as the season progressed – in reality, we’re still waiting for that type of response, whilst it was a sign of things to come from Tottenham.
Although I have been firmly in the Man City camp in terms of which team I expect to win the title, I am now beginning to question if Pellegrini’s men have what is required. I fully believe they have the best squad but the mentality has not been right for large spells of this season and it’s getting harder to make a case for them. Even if they lose against Spurs they still won’t be completely out the hunt, but it will be difficult. It’s a scenario I can well see happening due to how impressive and confident Tottenham have looked of late. The Etihad has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for Tottenham, but this is their most important visit since May 2010 when both clubs were going for the final Champions League spot, and it was a match the North London club won – take them to do something similar here.
Tottenham 14/5 @ Skybet
