Manchester City FC

City’s squad has been decimated with various fitness issues for the past couple of months, but some of those problems look to be improving – though there was a further blow with news that Mateo Kovacic could be out for up to a month.

“Some of them [could be available], yes,” said Guardiola when asked for a squad update at his Friday press conference,

“John [Stones] trained good, Manu [Akanji] trained good. Nathan [Ake] is coming back to training, so we didn’t have any centre-backs and now we have three.

“Ruben [Dias] is out but hopefully back soon. Some players recover better.

“These 10 days some players recovered a little. I don’t know if they are ready to play 90 minutes or play from the beginning but to see the training session and see their faces was a really good boost for all of us.”

However, the news was not all positive with the boss revealing Kovacic has returned from international duty with Croatia.

“He (Kovacic] will be a while - three weeks or a month. More or less,” said Guardiola.

The manager spoke to journalists at the CFA.

The briefing followed hot on the heels of the boss signing a two-year contract extension with the Blues so it was a hot topic as he answered questions from reporters.

I FELT I COULD NOT LEAVE NOW - PEP

He was also quizzed about the latest injury news following the November international break as well as looking ahead to the encounter with Ange Postecoglou’s men.

There’ll be a video recap available shortly while part two, which is embargoed, will be available to watch this evening from 22:30 (UK).

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Man City v Spurs - 23 Nov 2024  Manchester City FC

Following the November international break, the final one of the calendar year, City return to Premier League action this Saturday.

Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is scheduled for 17:30 (UK) with Pep Guardiola’s side fully focused on chasing down the top of the table.

The clash will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Now TV and Sky Go.

For those residing outside of the United Kingdom, find out how to tune in to the game via these TV listings, courtesy of livesoccertv.com.

Starting two hours before kick-off, our Matchday Centre will provide a blow-by-blow account of our match at the Etihad including updates, stats, opinions and quotes.

We will also have Michael Brown and Ledley King on our Matchday Live show which will be available before, during and after the match, starting at 16:!5 (UK).

And those with push notifications turned on will be alerted to the key moments as soon as they happen.

A comprehensive match report, highlights and CITY+ full-match replay will follow throughout the evening.

View the global TV listings below, courtesy of livesoccertv.com (correct as of 16 November).

GLOBAL TV LISTINGS

Gareth Taylor‘s side powered to another victory as our unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season continued.

It was our ninth successive win in all competitions, with Spurs blown away Bunny Shaw opened the scoring inside the first minute - and the visitors never recovered as Shaw went on to claim a hat-trick, while Lauren Hemp supplied a hat-trick of assists.

Matchday Pass offers an overview of the day, from fascinating back stories fans usually never have the chance to see.

This time, we follow the Women’s Kit Manager Dave Puro as he prepares everything from socks, shirts, balls and shorts ahead of the game.

There’s even the process of pressing poppies on the shirts for Remembrance Day.

Puro gives us a fascinating insight to matchdays for our women’s team.

It proved to be a special night at the Etihad Stadium in the Barclays Women’s Super League as the Blues recorded our 250th professional win.

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw lit the blue touch paper after just 21 seconds when relentlessly hunting down possession, retrieving the ball and coolly slotting home.

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She then doubled our lead less than 15 minutes when the Jamaican met a teasing Lauren Hemp cross to head into the net from close range.

Gareth Taylor‘s side then kept our foot on the gas after the interval and extended our a strong advantage through Jill Roord who venomously fired past Rebecca Spencer after collecting Hemp’s pass.

Then England international grabbed her third assist of the evening soon when playing an inch-perfect pass across the face of goal - allowing Bunny to grab her history making hat-trick.

It meant the clinical striker became the first player to score three trebles against the same WSL opponent and it also moved her to the top of the all-time hat-trick list in the competition’s history with six.

Another clinical display saw Shaw also become the first player ever to score three hat-tricks against the same opponent in Barclays Women’s Super League history

In front of more than 10,000 fans at the Etihad, she needed just 21 seconds to find the opener, before doubling our lead less than 15 minutes later.

Jill Roord got her third in three games to put City three up and out of sight before Shaw completed an historic hat-trick midway through the second period.

It meant a comfortable night for Gareth Taylor’s team as we registered our 250th win as a professional outfit in just 340 outings while we have now gone 11 matches unbeaten across all competitions at the start of the 2024/25 season.

At this early stage, the victory guarantees we’ll see out the weekend in top spot of the WSL no matter what title rivals Chelsea do against Liverpool on Sunday.

What happened

After a spectacular fireworks display and light show as the players lined up in the tunnel, all in the Etihad marked the upcoming Remembrance Sunday with a minute’s silence and sounding of The Last Post.

Once the game kicked off, City incredibly needed only 21 seconds to take the lead with Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw pressing high, taking the ball off Clare Hunt and finishing with aplomb.

Our next major opening came after nine minutes, when Kerstin Casparij dashed to the byline and whipped a dangerous low cross that Aoba Fujino was inches away from converting at the back post.

The City fans in the Etihad didn’t have to wait long to celebrate again however, with Shaw rising above Hunt to nod home Lauren Hemp’s floated cross in the 15th minute.

Spurs improved as the first half wore on, but never to the extent that Khiara Keating’s goal felt truly under threat.

Instead, City still could have added to our tally before the break, with Fujino meeting Hemp’s brilliant cross but failing to keep her header under the bar.

The second half began with City again on the front foot and only a superb diving Becky Spencer save prevented Hemp from registering another Goal of the Season contender.

Hemp could not have gone any closer in the 58th minute, when a sweeping move from right to left ended at her feet in the inside left channel.

Our electric winger stepped onto the ball and hit it with her instep, seeing it strike the inside of the near post before flying across the goal line and colliding with the other post.

The 24-year-old has arguably been the top-flight’s outstanding player so far this term and was again at her flying best in this one, proving a constant thorn in Spurs’ side.

It was her exquisite footwork that eventually brought about City’s third of the night.

Dancing through midfield, Hemp found the pass for Jill Roord, who took one touch and hammered home to continue her excellent form since return from injury.

That momentum swiftly carried us to our fourth as Shaw completed her hat-trick shortly afterwards, with the striker turning Hemp’s cross home.

It marked her 12th goal in just five WSL starts against Spurs and another record broken for our incredible forward.

That goal also signalled Hemp’s third assist in a spectacular performance and led to Taylor rotating his pack ahead of a busy November across domestic and continental fronts.

Teenage winger Lily Murphy was centimetres away from topping the occasion with a special memory of her own but saw her shot rustle the side netting narrowly wide of the near post.

Teams

CITY XI: Keating, Casparij, Kennedy, Greenwood, Ouahabi, Hasegawa, Park (Coombs 77), Roord (Blindkilde Brown 70), Fujino (Fowler 70), Hemp (Kelly 77), Shaw (Murphy 77)

Subs: Yamashita, Prior, Thomas, O’Carroll

SPURS XI: Spencer, Morris, Bartrip, Hunt (James-Turner 46), Buhler, Neville, Naz (Grant 82), Summanen, Spence (Ahtinen 70), Vinberg (Raso 55), England (C) (Thomas 55)

Subs: Heeps, Wang, Gunning-Williams, Csiki

gareth Taylor reaction

I’m pleased we got the result. There were some good parts to our game tonight, and I think there were some things we can be better with.

We have to factor in playing in a different kind of environment for us. The good thing is we play three games here [this season] and the girls will feel ready for the next game because it’s slightly different to what we have at the Joie Stadium.

Really good start, I think we had opportunities to enhance our lead at 2-0 and also at 4-0 as well.

These are the things as I as a coach I want to push with the girls because when we stick to what we do we’ll see top things. Overall I was really pleased.

Player of the Match

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw

The striker simply loves playing Spurs. While she’s prolific against all opposition, her numbers are jaw dropping when it comes to playing against this half of north London.

It was her pressing that won the ball back 20 seconds in and she was the only City player on the pitch to have touched the ball as it hit the back of the net.

If that was all about hard work and composure, her second typified her physical prowess. Leaping higher than anyone else on the pitch is capable, Shaw powerfully headed beyond Becky Spencer.

Her third made it 12 goals in five Barclays Women’s Super League and saw her become the first player ever to score three hat-tricks against the same opponent.

That’s before you consider she has now passed Vivianne Miedema as the WSL’s record hat-trick scorer, hitting three on six separate occasions.

Fortress Etihad

After five games at the Etihad in our professional history, we have won four and drawn one.

In that time, we have scored 10 goals and conceded just twice.

We’ll next have the opportunity to extend that record when we host Manchester United in January before we host defending champions Chelsea at the stadium in March.

What it means

City have 19 points from our first seven matches in the 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League.

We will stay top no matter what Chelsea do at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon and remain at the summit for next weekend’s clash with Sonia Bompastor’s side.

What’s next

City host Swedish side Hammarby at the Joie Stadium in the Women’s Champions League at 20:00 on Tuesday 12 November.

Our next Barclays Women’s Super League outing comes at defending champions Chelsea at 17:30 on Saturday 16 November.

News about Man City v Spurs

Extended highlights | City 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Watch the extended highlights from Manchester City's fantastic 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Watch more

Shaw's goals are reward for her hard work, says Taylor

Gareth Taylor says Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's latest hat-trick is just reward for her relentless hard work for the team. Read more

Short highlights | City 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Watch the bitesize best bits from Manchester City's emphatic 4-0 success over Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium. Watch more

Bunny Shaw’s stellar stats against Spurs

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw continued her remarkable record against Tottenham Hotspur with a hat-trick in Friday’s 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium. Read more

Shaw: Team-mates make my job easier!

Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw says her City team-mates play a vital role in her scoring success. Watch more

City record 250th professional win

Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur was our 250th as a professional outfit. Read more

Full-match replay: City v Tottenham Hotspur

CITY+ subscribers can watch every kick from City's Barclays Women's Super League home clash with Tottenham Hotspur. Watch more

The Blues welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium for a 19:30 (UK) kick-off hoping to maintain our unbeaten start to the 2024/25 campaign.

City sit top of the WSL table but face a Spurs side fresh from a late 2-1 win over West Ham last weekend.

CITY v SPURS PLAYLIST: LISTEN HERE

This is our first meeting with the Lilywhites this season, having faced them four times across 2023/24.

Getting the better of them in both league encounters, a stunning Yui Hasegawa strike also saw us win at Brisbane Road by a single goal in the Continental Cup quarter-finals.

However, Spurs got their revenge with a penalty shootout win against City in the FA Cup last eight.

CITY v SPURS | BUY YOUR TICKETS

It promises to be another thrilling encounter between the two teams on Friday evening, with the players carefully creating a playlist of their favourite pre-match songs for you to enjoy ahead of the action.

From Cher to AC/DC, it’s got a bit of something for everyone!

Listen to the playlist here

Tracklisting

Gareth Taylor’s side welcome Spurs at 19:30 (UK) on Friday 8 November in the first chapter of our trilogy of fixtures there in 2024/25.

The Blues will be aiming to extend our unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions during the encounter.

CITY v SPURS | BUY YOUR TICKETS

But we’ll have to be at our best to beat Robert Vilahamn’s side who overcame West Ham in their previous outing.

Tickets are available here – and below are a selection of fans’ feelings ahead of tonight as the excitement builds towards kick-off.

“The match day experience for a women’s game at the Etihad is great and family friendly.

“We as a family really enjoy having easy accessible parking before walking over to the players arrival entrance and taking in the sights.

“We enjoy seeing the players arrive, all suited and looking great in their variations of the same outfit and them seeing our support and that we are rooting for them before the match has started.

“We then find our seats and wait for the starting line up to be announced (exciting times), wait for the players to come out and warm up and give them a cheer.

“We enjoy watching the bigger crowds come and support the women’s team, the atmosphere that it brings, and the celebrations from the team when they score.

“We’re also especially looking forward to the Manchester derby at the Etihad in January.”

The Rigley family.

“I’m really looking forward to watching the team at the Etihad for some extra games this season.

“It really demonstrates City’s one club mentality and commitment to the women’s game!

“We always have a fantastic experience, and it’s such a great, inclusive atmosphere for fans, especially families. We absolutely love getting behind the team and being loud and proud! Hoping for a positive result this Friday, come on City!”

Lindsey Hewitt

CITY v SPURS | BUY YOUR TICKETS

“I love our match days at the Etihad. It’s a great feeling when you walk out onto the stands knowing you will be singing your heart out with your football family and watching your idols play at the Etihad.

“Being there also means more fans can attend the game. It’s great to see women’s football get bigger and bigger.”

Andrea Brookshaw

“When we play at the Etihad there is always a great family friendly atmosphere and it shows just how much the women’s game has changed for the better.

“It is great to be able to watch the women on the big stage singing them through and being the 12th woman.”

Jennifer Sullivan

CITY V SPURS TICKETS

Tickets for City’s WSL showdown with Tottenham Hotspur are available from just £15 for adults and £5 for Under-16s. Visit mancity.com and the Official Man City App for more information.

CITY v SPURS | BUY YOUR TICKETS

Additionally, supporters can also secure their seat for further WSL Etihad clashes against Manchester United (17/18/19 January) and Chelsea (21/22/23 March) through the Hat-Trick Pack at a price of £40 for adults and £12 for U16s.

“It will be exciting to play at such a historic stadium” – Ayaka Yamashita.

“Stepping out at the Etihad…we make it our home” – Lauren Hemp.

Those are the thoughts of just three members of Gareth Taylor’s City heading into Friday Night Football at the Etihad Stadium.

CITY v SPURS | BUY YOUR TICKETS

The excitement in the squad is palpable as we get set to take on Spurs in a 19:30 (UK) kick-off.

City are top of the WSL with five wins and one draw from the opening six games and the Blues will be hoping to make it seven-up in our latest assignment.