Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester City in a Premier League hot match on Wednesday night, February 26 or Thursday morning WIB, with history on the brink for Ange Postecoglou's team.
After two defeats City this season and three times beating Manchester United, Spurs could be the first team to beat the two Manchester teams in three seasons.
Tottenham came with high confidence after destroying Ipswich Town 4-1 in their last Premier League match. Yah Johnson impressed with two goals, while Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski also scored. This victory brought Spurs to 12th place in the standings, which is still far from the club's expectations.
However, their performance began to improve after several key players recovered from injury. Postecoglou is now targeting a fourth straight win in the Premier League, something they last did in October 2023. Tottenham also showed solid defense, with three clean sheets in their last four home games.
On the other hand, Manchester City came with disappointment after losing 0-2 to Liverpool. Without Erling Haaland still injured, The Citizens failed to score despite dominating possession. This is their third defeat in four games in all competitions, including two defeats against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Despite still in fourth place in the standings, City are at risk of dropping to sixth place if Chelsea and Aston Villa win their game. Their away record is also less convincing, winning just two of the last nine league games, with both wins coming against bottom teams Leicester City and Ipswich Town.
City also had a bad record against Tottenham at Spurs headquarters. They have lost to The Lilywhites twice this season, with a score of 4-0 in the Premier League and 2-1 in the EFL Cup. Guardiola must be vigilant if he doesn't want his team to lose points again in this match.
Tottenham still have to play without some key players. Radu Dragusin (ACL), Dominic Solanke (lutut), Richarlison (betis), Cristian Romero (paha), and Micky van de Ven (paha) are ruled out. However, Timo Werner, who has a potential to return to play and can be an option for Postecoglou.
James Maddison and Pedro Porro, who were rested against Ipswich, are likely to return to the starting XI, while Ben Davies, who missed the final game, is also ready to play.
On the side of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is still facing an injury crisis. Erling Haaland is still doubtful about appearing due to a knee problem, while Rodri (ACL), Oscar Bobb (an ankle), Manuel Akanji (abductor), and John Stones (faha) are also ruled out. Kevin De Bruyne, who played full time against Liverpool, is likely to be rotated to stay fit.
If Haaland could play and score, he would be the second player in Premier League history to score 10 home goals and 10 away goals in three consecutive seasons, after Harry Kane.
Tottenham has shown impressive performance at home lately, while Manchester City is still struggling without Haaland. Spurs have a good momentum and record against City this season, so they can steal points again in this match.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Maddison, Bentancur, Sarr; Kulusevski, Johnson, Son
Manchester City (4-2-3-1):Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, Silva, Doku; Marmoush
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City