Manchester City will be back in action this weekend following the latest international break.
Specifically, City will be taking on Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Prior to the November international break, Pep Guardiola saw his side lose four games in a row, which is something that one of his teams had never done before.
In fact, Guardiola admitted that City needed the break after losing 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion.
With the Blues now having the chance to get their season back on track and put their poor run of form behind them, a pundit has shared his early prediction for what is a crucial game for the Manchester club.
Paul Merson drops prediction for Man City vs Tottenham Hotspur
In his latest column for Sportskeeda where he previewed and predicted the results for all of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, Paul Merson gave this assessment of City’s upcoming match against Spurs.
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He said: “If someone would have said to me at the start of the season that Manchester City would lose four games in a row, I would have said never in a million years! Yet, here we are.
“It doesn’t get any easier for them this weekend, Tottenham are a tough opponent. But then again, Tottenham are Spursy. Who would have thought they would get beat by Ipswich?
“Still, it wouldn’t shock me if Spurs get a result here simply because Manchester City have not been Manchester City for a while now.
“Since the draw against Newcastle, barring the wins over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague, City have not wiped the floor with anyone like we are used to seeing.
“I just can’t imagine them losing five in a row, that’s why I’m going for a City win here. But I can assure you it won’t be an easy win.
“Tottenham have history of getting results against City, it goes back a long time. I remember them getting a result under Harry Redknapp to qualify for Europe, thanks to a goal from Peter Crouch. So it’s a tricky game.
“There is no pressure on Tottenham this week and if they click, I think they have a chance. That’s why I say I wouldn’t be shocked if Spurs get a result.”
City need to turn a corner
Having entered the November break in such dire form, everyone at the Manchester club will be desperate to put things right and secure a win against Ange Postecoglou’s side this weekend.
In fact, it was their 2-1 defeat to Spurs in the Carabao Cup at the end of October that started City’s quartet of defeats.
Therefore, there should be an element of revenge in the City players’ minds heading into this latest meeting against the Lilywhites.
The club recently announced that Guardiola has signed a two-year contract extension, which should give the City players and fans a big boost and raise the atmosphere and energy at the Etihad this weekend.
Even though Spurs are currently seven points below the Citizens in the league table, the home side should still be wary of the threat they carry, especially given how City have only won three of their past 10 league matches against the North London club.