Tottenham vs Manchester City – A chance to close the gap.
By Adam Marrett
After a massive day of fixtures in the Premier League, a massive chance for Manchester City awaits against Tottenham away at a stadium Manchester City haven’t had the best results.
Arsenal’s shock loss to Everton sets up a high stakes encounter with huge ramifications going forward and a chance to close the gap to 2 points in the title race.
Arsenal’s shock defeat away to Everton sets the scene for a huge opportunity for Pep Guardiola’s men to seize on a chance to capitalise on Arsenal’s slip.
There haven’t been any opportunities to make ground on Arsenal in the first half of the season due to their form. Now one has opened up, and the hope is it fires up the Manchester City squad to get a result at a stadium we haven’t scored at nor played well at since it opened.
We all know Tottenham’s strengths. Up front with Kane, Son & Kulisevski who on their day can tear any defence apart. Usually Tottenham sit in against us and Son & Kane do the damage at pace on the break.
We saw a glimpse of it in the first half at the Etihad only two weeks ago where Tottenham went in with a 2 nil lead at half time.
The second half of that game saw a resurgence and return to form for Manchester City coming from 2 down to win 4-2 with Riyad Mahrez being vital in that second half revival with two games.
He & Jack Grealish have been in good form in recent weeks, if this continues it bodes well for this return bout as in the second half of that game it looked like Tottenham couldn’t handle either of them.
With news this week of Joao Cancelo leaving on loan for Bayern Munich, with reports of training ground bust ups with team mates & manager, and Cancelo not being happy at the Etihad with his lack of minutes of recent time, I’m expecting a committed and happier Manchester City squad to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
If those reports are correct and Cancelo has been a hindrance to the morale of the squad & the dressing room so with that distraction gone there is no excuse.
Manchester City have looked to be returning to their best form of late with wins over Spurs, Wolves and a massive FA Cup tie win over Arsenal the form line leading into the clash with Tottenham.
Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez & Rodri have been outstanding during this run, hope being the form continues into this massive game. The Arsenal win felt like a big moment in the season for me, and with Arsenal’s slip and a chance to close the gap at the top it may well become one going forward this season.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Julian Alvarez start up front with Erling Haaland for this one. Alvarez has performed well in his substitution cameos in the most recent performances, the Tottenham win and the FA Cup tie against Arsenal come to mind where it looked like neither could handle him.
This game feels like a good opportunity to unleash the pair in a big game.
The chance is there for Manchester City to ramp up the pressure on a previous imperious Arsenal side, one that must be seized upon as this feels like a massive moment in the title race, and our season.
I’m expecting a fired up Manchester City performance, and the hope being it translates into a huge performance.
It won’t be a easy game against a quality Tottenham side, and at a stadium we haven’t performed well at.
But here’s the chance to right some wrongs of recent times, and lay down a marker for what comes next. This feels like a crucial moment of the season, so bring on the kick off.