Manchester City Vs Tottenham Hotspur: A preview

Manchester City will be travelling to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday hoping to start their title defence campaign with a win.

Tottenham Hotspur are under a new manager in the former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and will be hoping to improve on their disastrous season, where they failed to get a spot in the top four and also lost the carabao cup final to Manchester City.

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Manchester City on the other hand will be hoping to start their title defence with a win, even though a lot of their potential starters will be missing due to international competition fatigue and injuries.

For Tottenham, Ryan Sessegnon is out with a hamstring injury, while Cristian Romero has not trained and remains a big doubt. Tanguy Ndombele is also set to miss the opening fixture after not playing in the preseason games.

Manchester City target Harry Kane is said to be in contention for the game as confirmed by Nuno, even though he only started training last week.

For the away team, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden are injured and will miss the starting few weeks of the new premier league season. Even though the likes of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus have returned to training on Tuesday, it is not sure how many of them will actually start on Sunday.

Tottenham are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1. Hugo Lloris will be the man between the sticks, while Davidson Sanchez and Eric Dier will likely play in the heart of the defence. Regulion has cemented his spot on the left-hand side of the defence, while it still remains to be seen who Nuno chooses for the right-hand side. Whether it will be Doherty, Aurier or Tanganga.

Piere Emile Hojberg is likely to partner Harry Winks in the heart of midfield, while Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwjin start in the wide areas. Dele Alli will play the attacking midfielder role and Son Heung-min will lead the attack for the North Londoners.

Manchester City on the other hand are likely to line up in the classic 4-3-3 formation. Ederson, even though he has only trained for a week, is likely to start in goal. Joao Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy are likely to be the full-backs, as it remains to be seen whether Zinchenko is able to recover his fitness before the game.

City star Ruben Dias is likely to be partnered with Nathan Ake, who had a horrendous game against Leicester, in defence if John Stones and Ayermic Laporte remain unavailable. Gundogan and Fernandinho will likely start in the midfield and either Bernando Silva or Rodri will accompany them.

Riyad Mahrez has been City’s best player during the pre-season is more likely to start than anyone else in the team. Ferran Torres can play the false 9 role if Jesus is not fit to start with record signing Jack Grealish on the left.

Samuel Edozie, another player who impressed in the pre-season, may get a chance to showcase his talents against Tottenham Hotspur.

For Manchester City, Riyad Mahrez is going to be the key player. He has looked sharp with the ball at his feet and can cause major problems for the Spurs fullbacks.

For Tottenham, Son will be the player to focus on. After a brilliant goal against local rivals Arsenal, he is in great form and can cause problems for Pep Guardiola’s men.

If Grealish was to start, the battle between him and Pierre Emile Hojberg will be very interesting to watch. Grealish is a master dribbler, while Hojberg is known to be one of the best defensive midfielders in the premier league. Keep an eye out for these two!

I am expecting a win for Manchester City, however, it will not be easy. It will be an attacking game, with both teams going at it from the start. A 2-1 win for Manchester City.