Manchester City face a road trip at White Hart Lane on Saturday, we discussed the match with two Tottenham supporters from HotspurHQ.
The season is only about two months old but there have already been several big matches for Manchester City. The Manchester derby. Champions League qualification. Yesterday’s thriller against Celtic. However, this weekend it is 1st place versus 2nd place in the EPL standings facing off. Heading into that match we talked with the two site experts over at our partner site HotspurHQ to get their thoughts on their club and the match-up.
Q1. What is the feeling around how Tottenham will do this season adding in Champions League football?
Ryan: Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino succeeded on two fronts this summer: they kept last year’s wildly talented side intact and they added a lot of meaningful depth. Those two things, on paper, should leave Tottenham prepared to put up a fight in two or more competitions this season. In practice, things are a bit different. Pochettino knows who and what he likes, and but for a couple exceptions last term, did not rotate nearly enough considering what he was demanding of his players. He has the tools to rotate properly this term — now the question is if he’ll use them. Recent injuries and suspensions are kind of a silver lining situation: they’re giving bench players like Wanyama and Janssen time to impress Pochettino before the season really gets going. With any luck, he’ll be confident enough in their abilities to use them when it matters.
Alex: No doubt Spurs feel like they’re a top four team. When coupled with Champions League, things get a bit more difficult due to the elite clubs participating. But like Ryan said, Levy and Pochettino upgraded this squad at important positions. Injuries have started piling up recently but with Wanyama, Janssen and Sissoko getting some playing time, Pochettino should feel confident who to rest and who to start. Even though he – like Ryan said – has his favorites.
MANCHESTER CITY: TOP 13 GOAL SCORERS OF ALL-TIME
Q2. How much do you expect missing Harry Kane will impact the match?
Ryan: I doubt there’s a Tottenham fan out there who wouldn’t want even an out-of-form Kane to start every match possible, but I’m not sure how much it hurts the team significantly here. Tottenham isn’t a Star Man team like it was in the Gareth Bale era. Pochettino’s system produces success more than the talents of any one man, though no one’s complaining about Kane’s 30 odd goals a season. It’s kind of like City’s relationship with Sergio Aguero. He’s probably the best individual player in the Premier League, but it’s not like City is suddenly terrible without him.
Alex: Missing Kane hurts, but at the same time his two goals (sitters/tap-ins) only saw Spurs pick up one win when he scored. Against Stoke, it was a rout before he even got on the board. He’s a slow starter so him being injured isn’t that bad in all honesty. He gets some rest and the season has yet to really pick up.
Q3. With Kane out, who should Manchester City fans be most wary of?
Ryan: Heung-min Son. Starting at the end of last season and carrying on through right now, he seems dead set on proving his worth to Tottenham. The transfer rumors over the summer and South Korea’s failure at the Olympics seem only have added fuel to his fire. With Kane out, he’s easily Tottenhan’s biggest scoring threat.
Alex: Spurs’ biggest threat right now is Son Heung-Min. Like Ryan said, he’s been in form. Not only is he scoring goals, but he’s attacking defenders head on and stretching a team’s defense. Georges-Kévin N’Koudou’s introduction against CSKA Moscow saw him get plenty of space after the work that Son did to force defenders back whenever he got the ball. If City aren’t wary, Son could single-handedly be the difference maker.
More from Man City Editorials
- Phil Foden Scores Opener for England Against Scotland
- The FA Cup 1904; Manchester City’s First Trophy Ever
- Scandal Erupts: Raival’s Star Winger Antony Faces Accusations of Assault
- Man City Reigns Supreme in Ballon d’Or Nominations, Argentina Shines on National Stage
- Louis van Gaal Drops Bombshell: Accuses Argentina of World Cup 2022 Conspiracy!
Q4. If Spurs have another top 4 finish, do you think this is a squad that can stay together or will there be some big money sales taking place?
Ryan: It’s impossible to say that there won’t be any big money sales over the next two seasons. Financing a brand new stadium isn’t exactly cheap, after all. Up to now Levy’s balanced the books by somehow getting top dollar for a lot of Tottenham’s dead weight. After this summer, though, there’s just not that many superfluous players to sell going forward. It seems likely that the club will move on from a big name player or two, but only those who might be aging out anyhow (i.e. Vertonghen and Dembélé).
Alex: The core is intact right now with many players signing extensions (seven in September) but if there were some sales one name who could go first may be Jan Vertonghen. Pochettino has cover in Kevin Wimmer and now Cameron Carter-Vickers. Dembélé will stay for the time being because Winks and Carroll aren’t ready yet. The sales this past summer saw many players leave that people expected were going to happen. So outside of Vertonghen, there’s no one else who could go. In terms of signing someone in the summer, they’ll most likely look at depth again to give the squad more players to rotate some more. Clinton N’Jie will be coming back too.
Q5. Give us a score prediction for the match, and a prediction for how Spurs will finish this season?
Ryan: City win but it’s close, maybe 2-1. That’s a prediction based on Pep’s considerable upgrades, but also Tottenham’s form of late. They’re struggling through a strange slump, one that doesn’t exactly show up in the table. The defense is fine — only three goals conceded in the league, none from open play — but the offense is running into some growing pains. Combined with injuries, and Tottenham look a tad limp. If/when Pochettino works out the kinks, there’s no reason they can’t qualify for the Champions League again.
Alex: Spurs 1-1 City. Spurs will probably concede first but find a way to claw back for a goal. Ryan nailed it by saying Spurs are in a strange slump despite winning games. They can do everything leading up to that final pass before losing possession. Adding in their lack of a clinical finish (Pochettino’s been critical lately) and it wouldn’t be surprising if Pep Guardiola decides to bombard Spurs’ defense knowing full well they have trouble scoring a goal.
Tottenham’s defense is playing well once again, it’s their offense that’s trying to play catch up. Especially when you take away their 4-0 win over Stoke and 5-0 win over Gillingham. They’re dominating in shots and possession, but scoring one goal and holding on until the very end won’t help against better competition.
With the Big Five all improving over the summer and Man City back in the title hunt, that leaves three spots left this early in the season. A fourth place finish wouldn’t be that bad even if they clinched third last season. The objective every year has always been to make it into the Champions League regularly, as winning a league title is much more difficult.
Combined Best XI: Manchester City vs. Tottenham.
