Saturday 14th April 2018 Kick off 1945hrs Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City Football – England – Premier League If, at the start of the season, before a ball was kicked you offered Pep Guardiola a 13 point lead with six games to go he would almost certainly have been ecstatic when accepting it. Heading into Saturday evening’s game away to Tottenham where they have their second chance of clinching the title, it’s not as much a feeling of euphoria as one of exasperation following a difficult last 10 days. For Spurs, they will still have their sights set on finishing second for the second straight season but it’s likely they’ll have to win virtually all of their remaining six games to do so, starting with this one.
Spurs started the season in a rather inconsistent fashion and there was even some doubt that they would fail to reach the Champions League spots as a result of that. Coming towards the end of the season and they are very much in control of their own fate with a lead of 10 points over 5th placed Chelsea. With City likely to secure the title before much longer, the most standout issue at the top end of the table will be on who finishes second. Manchester United currently hold second spot and are four points better off than Tottenham having played the same number of games. Liverpool sit third by virtue of a better foal difference over Tottenham and with their ongoing participation in the Champions League, the north London club will fancy their chances of finishing ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s men – but Saturday is a huge game for their chances of ending the season as runners up for a second consecutive time. Chelsea remain the only team to have won at Wembley in the league this season so it’s a venue where opponents tend to struggle due to how well drilled this Tottenham team are.
Although widely anticipated, the disappointment was still as raw on Tuesday night as City exited the Champions League having lost 2-1 in the second leg to Liverpool at the Etihad. The tie finished 5-1 on aggregate but it really is a game of small margins as Guardiola’s men got off to the perfect start by scoring in the first couple of minutes before having a perfectly good goal ruled out on the stroke of half-time. Had that counted then you would have to have fancied City going into the second half to get the result they needed but the longer it went on and the more they had to chase it simply played into Liverpool’s hands. It capped off a pretty disastrous week for the club but they can begin putting things right by winning the Premier League on Saturday evening under the lights at the national stadium. The league title is usually always the priority at the outset of a campaign and as far as that goes it will be mission accomplished but there will no doubt be an underwhelming nature to some of the celebrations when just a few weeks ago it appeared like City could win all four competitions, and now they have to settle for just two.
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City Betting Tip
The way in which the fixtures have played out means this will be Tottenham’s first home game in any competition since they were eliminated in the Champions League to Juventus. That game took place at the beginning of March, so a full month has passed whilst their last home game in the league was the 3rd of March. It’s a long time to go between home matches but it has not had a detrimental impact on Spurs’ Champions League hopes. Maurico Pochettino’s men are also preparing for a FA Cup semi-final against Man United at the end of this month so their season can still end on a very successful note. For City it’s all about getting back to what has made them so good over the course of this season, domestically. It’s now three straight defeats for them in all competitions but they have been the best team in the Premier League by far and get a chance to prove that.
If City do not win it here, they’ll likely win it next week, but winning at away to Tottenham would send something of a signal that despite recent reverses, they are the benchmark for all others to surpass next season – including Tottenham. Liverpool remain the only team to have beaten them in the league but Tottenham are as good as anybody on their day and having brushed aside Chelsea away from home a couple of weeks ago, are still bang in form and can continue their very good home record by defeating the champions-elect under the lights on Saturday.
Tottenham 25/14 Marathon Bet
