Yahoo Sports Manchester City vs Tottenham (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch
Manchester City lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur once again this season as they seek out revenge a little under a month on from their Carabao Cup fourth round exit.
The international break is over and City are returning to action. You could say the break came at a good time; off the back of four straight losses, some time away from the Premier League spotlight will undoubtedly do Pep Guardiola’s players some good.
Although the Catalan has led his team to four straight defeats, the 53-year-old tactician put pen-to-paper on a new two-year contract this week, bringing back the feel-good factor ahead of what has turned out to be a bit of a crunch match for both sides.
Now five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, Manchester City need to start making up some points and this match provides a tough test. Arne Slot’s side face Southampton which you would expect them to come out unscathed, putting slightly more pressure on City.
As for Saturday’s visitors to Manchester, they have endured a rather inconsistent period of form recently. Following positive results against City – albeit in the Carabao Cup – and Aston Villa, they fell short at the hands of Galatasaray and Ipswich Town.
Ange Postecoglou, who impressed many last season with his distinct brand of football in his debut season with the North London club, has struggled to get his side playing at a consistent level so far.
Question marks have been raised over Tottenham’s defence in particular due to their lack of clean sheets – having recorded just three all season – whilst they are currently sat in 10th position in the top-flight.
Last time out, Manchester City conceded two late goals against Brighton & Hove Albion to come away with nothing, after Erling Haaland earned a lead in the 23rd minute and struggled to capitalise and extend their lead.
Ultimately, the visitors paid the price for a host of missed chances as they were dealt two crushing blows from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Reily to increase Manchester City’s losing streak to four games across competitions.
Spurs shared a similar fate in their previous outing as Ipswich ran away with three points. Last season’s Championship top-scorer, Sammie Szmodics gave Kieran McKenna’s side the lead before former City man Liam Delap netted their second.
As Manchester City try to turn their cross-competition form around, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter at the Etihad Stadium this weekend!
Match Details
Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 23rd November, with kick-off scheduled for 17:30 GMT.
Match Officials
Leading the officiating team out on Saturday evening will be John Brooks. He has taken charge of four Premier League matches this season, most notably Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Chelsea.
Accompanying John Brooks at the Etihad Stadium will be Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan as assistant referees, whilst Craig Pawson will serve as fourth official.
As always, there will be VAR in operation controlled by a two-person team. In this instance, it will be Michael Salisbury as the Video Assistant Referee, accompanied by Assistant Video Assistant Referee Nick Greenhalgh.
Team News
Ahead of the match, Pep Guardiola was handed another major injury blow.
Aside from long-term absentees Rodri and Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovačić will now be sidelined for up to a month. The Croat has been used as a replacement for Rodri but, with the fresh injury update, City’s manager will now have to come up with another midfield solution.
Defence has been a cause for concern for City fans recently. Although Rúben Dias has been ruled out for the weekend, there is some good news with John Stones and Manuel Akanji being involved in training.
Alongside this, Nathan Ake will also be “coming back training,” according to his manager. Whilst this raises questions over his involvement on Saturday, it’s good to see that there’s a chance he could feature.
After withdrawing from their national team set-ups, Jérémy Doku, Phil Foden, and Jack Grealish all trained this week and will be ready to play a part against Postecoglou’s side.
Looking at the opposition, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison will not be involved. The forward duo are both recovering from hamstring problems and therefore are not in contention. Defensive pairing Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero will also not feature.
Timo Werner is struggling with a hip issue, and is looking at an early December return to action. Youngster Mikey Moore, who has shone recently, is suffering with an illness. His involvement is uncertain at the moment, depending on his recovery.
Finally, Rodrigo Bentancur will be serving part of his seven-match suspension handed to him.
Head To Head
Last month’s Carabao Cup victory narrowed Manchester City’s lead in the head-to-head record to just one. 172 matches has returned 68 wins for City and 67 for Spurs, with the upcoming clash presenting a chance for Spurs to level the record.
Statistics
Tottenham have won just two of their last eleven Premier League away matches and have only won two of five this season.
Spurs have scored at least twice in each of their last three matches at the Etihad Stadium. No team has ever scored multiple goals in four consecutive matches at Manchester City’s home ground.
Spurs have 10 points fewer than at this stage last season despite having both scored and conceded exactly the same number of goals: 23 and 13 respectively
Bernardo Silva has had 17 shots in the Premier League this season, the highest total by a player yet to score.
Manchester City won 2-0 in north London in May and are vying to claim back-to-back league victories versus Spurs for the first time since 2019.
How To Watch
For fans in the United Kingdom, the match will be broadcast live by Sky Sports on their Main Event and Premier League channels. Kick-off is scheduled for 17:30 GMT, with coverage expected to start beforehand.
For fans based in the United States, Peacock will be your broadcast provider whilst NBC will also provide coverage.
You can find full global TV listings for the matchday twelve encounter in the Premier League HERE!
City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!
