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Mark Lawrenson is giving Tottenham Hotspur very little chance at success against Manchester City this weekend.

The teams will face off at the Etihad Stadium as the Premier League resumes following the international break, and neither side are coming into Saturday's clash in good form.

Tottenham are 10th in the league and have been a picture of inconsistency, but their recent results have been better than those of City, who have lost four straight matches across all competitions, including their two most recent league games.

Read more | Harry Redknapp's Premier League predictions for Matchday 12

Despite the recent downturn by the Sky Blues, former Liverpool star Lawrenson is still giving the edge to City.

“I can only see a Manchester City win this weekend against Tottenham," Lawrenson said while speaking to Paddy Power. "The only way I can see Spurs getting a result is if loads of the players who have been away on international duty are injured, but I don’t think that’s the case.

“The other thing for the City players, which has been a bonus, is that they’ve not been in the building thinking about their recent results. They’ve been away on international duty, meaning they could have taken their minds off it.

“They will win comfortably, and we’ll probably see the start of another Manchester City run. It might just come earlier than the New Year this season.”

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou admitted "seven days is a long time in football" after his side scored a superb 4-1 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The hosts came from behind in North London to record a second win in as many games across all competitions, overturning a first half deficit against Unai Emery's visitors.

On the back of a Carabao Cup victory over Manchester City in midweek, it has delivered a marked turn in fortunes for Spurs following last weekend's loss to Crystal Palace.

Read more | 'Why would I be happy?' - Ange Postecoglou bemoans latest Tottenham loss

Speaking afterwards, Postecoglou praised his side's opponents while paying tribute to their own resolve after a crucial victory across what has been a stuttering domestic term.

"Villa are a good side," he told BBC Sport. "The first half was a bit of an arm wrestle. They have a consistent level of performance.

"We have other gears in us which we showed in the second half. Seven days is a long time in football. Seven days ago I was a grumpy old so and so.

"We have to say true to the course we're on. We made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and back to the team we want to be."

Expectations had been high at Spurs this season after their first campaign under Postecoglou, with hopes the Australian can finally end their silverware drought.

They return to continental action this week in the UEFA Europa League, when they travel to face Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray on Thursday.

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Consistency is the only real way for Tottenham Hotspur to get rid of the "Spursy" tag, says William Gallas.

The club were at the top of the table as late as 10 weeks into the 2023-24 Premier League season before they dropped back down into fifth place, missing out on the Champions League.

This season, Tottenham are currently eighth in the standings and already 10 points back of leaders Manchester City after nine matches. As such, it appears that the North London side are destined for another season as also-rans despite boasting a strong fan base and a state-of-the-art stadium.

Read next | Amorim, Frank or Xavi? Profiling the next Manchester United manager after Erik ten Hag sacked

It's an all-too-familiar story for the club, and former Spurs defender Gallas says manager Ange Postecoglou needs to find a way to lead the side towards more consistent results before they can be looked upon as true contenders.

"That 'Spursy' tag has been on the club for many years now. For Ange Postecoglou to take off that tag, Tottenham need to perform well and have a victory almost every weekend," Gallas told Prime Casino.

"At the end of the season, they have to finish in the top four, and then the fans can believe that they can challenge for the title the following season.

"Tottenham have always got the same problem. They are never consistent enough and they don’t have enough top, top class players. In fact, all the London teams have been inconsistent this season. What's going on with the London teams?

"Tottenham can only get rid of that tag by being consistent. They need to finish in the top four. Tottenham have got the stadium. They’ve got the training ground, the facilities at the club are unbelievable. They have the fans. They need to sell the players that aren’t good enough and buy some players that will help their squad challenge for the title. They need to let the Spurs fans dream of the Premier League."

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The headline fixture from this weekend's Premier League action takes place at Old Trafford.

This will see Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, two teams hoping to finish in the top four, go head-to-head, but at this stage of the season, they are struggling to put together a good run of form.

Pressure is quickly ramping up for United manager Erik ten Hag whose team drew with FC Twente 1-1 in the first round of Europa League fixtures, while Spurs managed to beat Qarabag 3-0 despite being reduced to 10-men.

Read more | Harry Redknapp's Premier League predictions for Matchday Six

Read more | Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer makes prediction for Manchester City clash

Speaking to Betfair, legendary Premier League striker Alan Shearer placed added emphasis on this clash when it came to the race for the top four, and also named one Spurs player in particular who could cause plenty of problems for the Red Devils.

"This is a huge game in terms of the top four. Both teams haven't had the start they wanted albeit Spurs won last weekend, it's a really tough one to call. Both teams aren't in great form. It won't be a great result for either team but I can see this being a draw," Shearer said.

"Spurs have players that can hurt United. James Maddison is a top player, he's one of the players that could say he played his part and did okay during Spurs' slow start to the season. I'm a fan of his, I like what he brings to the team and he got his goal last weekend. Confidence wise, that'll be great for him and he'll play a huge part, absolutely.

"If Spurs do get into those positions and turn chances into goals then it'll be tough for Man United as well because they do give you chances and that's why I see it being a score draw."

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Tottenham Hotspur fell 1-0 at home to Arsenal on Sunday in what was a frustrating match for the hosts, who dominated possession but came away with nothing to show for it.

Gabriel's 64th-minute header sealed the victory for the Gunners, who were without Declan Rice and captain Martin Odegaard. Their absences were felt as Spurs overran their visitors at times, but a momentary defensive lapse on an Arsenal corner kick was all that was needed for the visitors to undo all the good work by Tottenham up to that point.

"I thought it was a tight game all the way along," Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou told BBC Match of the Day. "We controlled it for the most part and got off to a good start. We didn't capitalise on the opportunities and we were unable to get on top of them.

"We lost concentration [for the goal]. We've got some big guys in there who really attack the ball and we just switched off for a second.

"I think I've said my piece. For the most part we controlled the game today, had good territory and possession but we didn't make the most of it and we got punished."