Tottenham Hotspur barely survived their third round League Cup tie at Coventry City, and now they face another City that wear sky blue in the fourth round — Manchester City. Spurs drew the four time defending Premier League title holders at home in the FA Cup fourth round, quite possibly the worst opponent they could’ve drawn at this stage in the competition.
Shit.
Before we get into the specifics of this particular tie, here’s the full fourth round draw. Arsenal, predictably, drew the easiest team left in the competition, Preston North End.
Brentford vs. Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton vs. Stoke City
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City
Winner of AFC Wimbledon/Newcastle United vs. Chelsea
Manchester United vs. Leicester City
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Liverpool
Preston North End vs. Arsenal
Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace
The fourth round of the League Cup will take place the week of October 28, which means the City fixture falls in between Tottenham’s match against Crystal Palace at home and an away trip to Aston Villa. City, meanwhile, have Southampton at home and Bournemouth away in the same stretch, meaning they’re probably more likely to field a stronger team in the cup and rotate against two pretty bad Premier League opponents. But it’s also Pep, and who knows what that guy will actually do.
EDIT: Well, I guess we know what Pep’s going to do, unless he’s lying here.
The good news is Spurs have recently been Pep and City’s bogey team, the last two meetings excepted. Honestly it’d be pretty funny if Big Ange can find a way to magic Spurs past City and into the fifth round, but it’s still a tall order.
Oh well. Set ‘em up so we can knock ‘em down. Let’s go. No fear. COYS.