Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur in a midweek Premier League clash.
The Blues are fresh off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to top of the table Liverpool, whilst Spurs are 13th but on the up after a comfortable 4-1 win away to Ipswich at the weekend.
Both sides have struggled with consistency and injuries this season, but continue to play attacking possession based football which should make for an entertaining affair.
Here are five things to look out for in City’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium:
Battle between the City wingers and Spurs full backs
Particularly after the weekend, City’s wingers and Spurs’s full backs will come under scrutiny.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho were both bright against Liverpool, but failed to offer any end product.
They twisted Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson respectively inside out, but the they struggled, partially down to having no Erling Haaland in the middle but also due to their own shortcomings.
For Spurs, Djed Spence has done an admirable job of stepping in at left back whilst Destiny Udogie has been injured, and now the Italian full back is fit again, it’s expected that Spence will switch to his preferred position of right back.
Spence and Udogie can match Doku and Savinho in terms of speed, mobility and physicality, and are capable defenders too, which should make for an interesting and potentially match deciding encounter.
Return of Haaland
City’s number nine will hopefully be back in the equation against Spurs, and they’ve really missed him.
One goal - a last minute consolation from a defensive midfielder - in two games without Haaland shows little promise to how the attack copes without him.
His box presence draws defenders towards him and creates space for others. He’s also lethal when he does get the ball in the box, scoring recently against Chelsea, Real Madrid, Arsenal and PSG amongst others.
Particularly with Tottenham Hotspur’s man to man system and aggressive pressing, Haaland will make the world of difference if he starts.
De Bruyne on the bench
After a disappointing performance against Liverpool, I expect De Bruyne to start on the bench against Spurs.
He’s unfortunately lost a yard of pace and sharpness, which means he isn’t the explosive, dynamic, dangerous, combative elite midfielder he once was.
The logistical change would be to bring Haaland in and move Phil Foden deeper, but if Haaland can’t play I’d expect Ilkay Gundogan or James McAtee to come in and play in the advanced midfield role.
Who knows which teams will turn up
This game could genuinely be 5-0 to either side.
City and Spurs have both been inconsistent all season. The home side are on something of an upward curve now a few key players are back, and they can cause City problems.
But the same applies to the Blues. Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku have all missed large parts of the season with injury, but all are fit again and are ready to make an impact.
If City play as they did against Newcastle or even if they control the game as they did against Liverpool, I think there’s a very strong chance they’ll win. But you never know nowadays whether City will deliver.
An excellent away following!
One thing that’s guaranteed is that City will bring a brilliant away support as always.
Many football fans accept that City’s away support is among the best in the Premier League, and it’s in big stadiums with good atmospheres like this where it’s most noticeable.
It’s my first away game. I was able to buy tickets fairly easily as a season ticket holder and I’m sure it’ll be a great day out regardless of the result.
At a time where City’s ticketing strategy is attracting attention for all the wrong reasons, it’s nice to remember the brilliant (and evergrowing) away support that will always be a part of City.