It’s going to be ‘white hart pain’ for Spurs against City

September 26

11:50 2015

Print This Article

The star match this weekend in the Barclays Premier League is at White Hart Lane when Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester City.

Our guest is a tax consultant and die-hard enemy of Spurs. In fact, Ladi Akintunde hates all clubs in London except Arsenal.

He takes us through this game as well as his predictions of the remaining fixtures.

CURRENT FORM

City started the season on fire after a huge summer overhaul and improvement of the first team squad with players like Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, and Nicolas Otamendi. However, their fine run which saw them win five in five league games without conceding a single goal was halted by West Ham United last weekend in a 2-1 win at the Etihad.

They bounced back with the 4-1 thrashing of Sunderland in the Capital One Cup midweek and will be looking to add Spurs to their list of casualties.

But Spurs are no pushovers. Although, they are yet to look convincing this season, Spurs are certainly improving. They have been on the rise lately notwithstanding the 2-1 loss to Arsenal midweek in the League Cup third round.

Tottenham picked up their first three points of the season at home last weekend with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace but they still sit ninth in the table heading into this match.

Despite losing to the Gunners, their performance in that match and their form has Spurs optimistic about securing a first win over City since 2013.

Mauricio Pochettino will be without Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele, Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard who are all still recovering from an array of problems.

Wilfried Bony, Gael Clichy, Fabian Delph, Kelechi Iheanacho, Eliaquim Mangala and David Silva are all out for City as well.

KEY BATTLES

SERGIO AGUERO V SPURS DEFENCE

Sergio Aguero has scored 10 goals in seven appearances against Tottenham and would be looking to increasing the tally on Saturday. Backed by De Bruyne, Sterling, Yaya Toure and David Silva, Aguero will fancy his chances of causing Spurs more headaches especially after he scored his first goal since August midweek against Sunderland.

Tottenham will hope that was just an anomaly and that the Argentinian’s run without a league goal in four games will be the sequence that holds. But keeping tabs on Aguero while not overlooking his considerable support from elsewhere will also place a significant burden on Spurs ‘defence and midfield.

HARRY KANE VS ELIAQUIM MANGALA

In the absence of Vincent Kompany, Harry Kane will be up againstCity’s £32million signing Eliaquim Mangala, who has struggled with the pace and intensity of the Premier League since arriving at the Etihad last summer.

Kane, who has scored six goals in his last seven league games, can add to the woes of the France international if he brings his usually busy and industrious self to this game. He’s almost certain to force defensive errors.

DAVID SILVA V NABIL BENTALEB

Nabil Bentaleb has done a good job as Spur’s deepest-lying midfielder this season but there are few tests in the Premier League quite like City’s David Silva.

The Spain international is currently enjoying arguably his best campaign to date for the Citizens, as he builds on his 11 goals, four assists and 78 chances created from his last 28 league games.

Bentaleb will have to keep the 29 year-old on as tight a leash as possible. It will be a very difficult task for just one man, so it’s vital the likes of Ryan Mason and Christian Eriksen offer their support.

PREDICTION

City didn’t pull a result against West Ham last week but we all know what they are capable of doing. If they’re on, then Spurs will be roasted at home but if they’re off, then the hosts have a chance. The problem is that they’ve only been off once in the league, and they’re probably not happy about it. They will be happy after this game with a 2-1 win.

KEY MATCH STATS (SUPPLIED BY OPTA)

Against Crystal Palace on MD6, Spurs’ starting XI was the youngest of any team in a Premier League game so far in 2015/16 (24y 118d).

Sergio Aguero has scored 10 goals in seven PL appearances against Spurs, his highest goal tally against any club in the competition.

In the seven PL matches that Sergio Aguero has played against Spurs, he’s only failed to score on one occasion.

Manchester City have scored 27 goals in their last eight Premier League games against Tottenham – an average of 3.4 a game.

Hugo Lloris has conceded 17 goals in five Premier League games against City, at a rate of one every 26 minutes.

Harry Kane has failed to score in any of his six Premier League appearances this season, but on the last occasion he faced opposition that were top of the league he scored two (Spurs 5-3 Chelsea in Jan 2015).

Manchester City have won five successive Premier League away games – they haven’t won six away games in a row in the top-flight before.

Wilfried Bony has scored in his last two Premier League starts against Spurs, but has netted just two goals in 15 PL apps for Manchester City.

The Citizens have scored in each of their last 14 Premier League away trips to London.

These two clubs have had the widest spread of nationalities to score a Premier League goal for them – Man City (40 different nationalities) & Spurs (39 different nationalities).

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero scores a penalty during the 4-1 League Cup win over Sunderland

TheCable