City Xtra

Manchester City returned to winning ways as they came out victorious in a hard-fought game against 13th-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening.

After a disappointing performance against leaders Liverpool, City needed to bounce back to keep their hopes of competing in the Champions League next season alive, and Guardiola’s side made a strong start against a Spurs side determined to continue their fine form.

The Blues wasted no time in testing Guglielmo Vicario out,thanks to a darting run made by Matheus Nunes to cut back to Erling Haaland, whose right-footed attempt in just the seventh minute lacked strong contact, allowing Spurs’ keeper to make a comfortable save.

Just five minutes later, Manchester City managed to find the breakthrough, and the Norwegian forward netted the opener on his return from injury. Jeremy Doku skipped past Pedro Porro before squaring the ball into Haaland, who made no mistake in cooly placing a shot inside the near post to register a 20th Premier League goal of the season.

With this goal, the Norwegian joined a prestigious club as he became only the second player in the history of the Premier League after Ruud van Nistelrooy to score 20 or more goals in each of his first three seasons in the English top-flight.

City continued to dictate the pace of the game, with Doku remaining the key figure in the Champions’ attacking play. The Belgian winger produced another moment of brilliance in curling a precise left-footed cross into the box, putting it on a plate for Savinho who had the golden opportunity to double the lead, but scuffed his effort and blazed his shot well over.

The Citizens were looking for a second goal on the half-hour mark, with another well-worked move shifted brilliantly across the penalty area to Doku, who tee’d up Haaland. This time, Vicario was prepared for the striker’s effort, making a crucial save to keep the North London side in the game.

Despite an impressive first half showing, Ange Postecoglu’s team eventually had a rare sight of goal just before the half time whistle. Porro’s threatening free-kick found Kevin Danso, who rose above the Blues’ defence to aim a looping header towards goal, forcing Ederson into action.

Tottenham came out with a new energy following the interval, constantly pushing forward in search of an equaliser. Their first real chance came just short of the hour mark through Porro, who fizzed in a low ball right across the face of City’s goal, but no Spurs player was there to apply the finishing touch.

Spurs continued to pile on pressure, with Kevin Danso powering another header towards goal, although this time it was a much more comfortable save for Ederson. A minute later, ‘The Lilywhites’ came even closer when Wilson Odobert cut inside and let fly, only for his effort to take a deflection and be tipped over by City’s number 31.

The reigning champions were struggling to gain control of the second half as Spurs intensely pressed, with Djed Spence proving to be a thorn in makeshift right back, Matheus Nunes’ side. Pep Guardiola responded with reinforcements in the form of Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden in place of Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush in an attempt to regain control of the game.

Despite the substitutions, Spurs nearly found their breakthrough after 75 minutes with Josko Gvardiol missing a challenge, allowing Brennan Johnson to run free. The winger clipped the ball into Dejan Kulusevski, but his touch let him down, allowing Ederson to pick up the pieces.

Deep into stoppage time, Erling Haaland thought he had doubled City’s lead and sealed the Blues three points after muscling past Danso and Archie Gray to slot home. However, a lengthy VAR review disallowed the strike for handball, much to the frustration of the City striker.

The match had one final dramatic moment in the eighth minute of additional time with Dejan Kulusevski charging down the wing and delivering a cross to Son, who flicked it on to Pape Sarr. The Senegalese was left unmarked in the box but sent a header over the bar with the last attack of the game.

Manchester City ultimately held on for a 0-1 victory, securing a vital three points in their race for Champions League football despite a second-half improvement from Tottenham Hotspur. Here is how rated Pep Guardiola’s players in their gritty win in North London!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 8.5 (MOTM)

The Brazilian was outstanding, making crucial saves that proved vital in the Blues’ victory whilst also showcasing his world-class composure with the ball at his feet. His best performance in a while.

Matheus Nunes – 6

Manchester City’s number 27 found himself in some good positions and made some positive runs in the first half, however, his end product was inconsistent and he struggled defensively in the second half.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 8

The January signing is rapidly growing into one of Manchester City’s stand-out defenders, putting his shaky debut further behind him with another composed performance at the back.

Ruben Dias – 7

The Citizens captain rarely put a foot wrong. His performance alongside Abdukodir Khusanov was commanding and leaves Manchester City fans with excitement surrounding the pair for the future.

Josko Gvardiol – 6

The Croatian had a solid outing at left-back, contributing well defensively, but sometimes could have been more composed under pressure.

Nico Gonzalez – 6

Our Deadline Day recruit looked very in place in the Manchester City team once again, moving the ball efficiently and helping control possession before being substituted after 74 minutes.

Mateo Kovacic – 7

The midfielder kept things ticking in midfield throughout the game with his composed passing and ball retention, while also putting in some strong challenges to help City maintain control for most of the game.

Omar Marmoush – 5

Manchester City’s new number seven struggled to make a significant impact, finding it difficult to influence our attack before being replaced by Phil Foden.

Jeremy Doku – 7.5

Doku was electric in the first half, constantly tormenting Pedro Porro with his direct dribbling, but he faded after the break and struggled to make the same impact.

Savinho – 5

Savinho had a frustrating outing, missing a golden opportunity to extend City’s lead and failing to make the impact fans now expect from the Brazilian winger.

Erling Haaland – 8

The Norwegian forward marked his return with the game’s only goal and impressed with his link-up play, showcasing his strength and sharp movement despite his recent absence due to injury.

Substitutes

Phil Foden – 6

The England international came on in the 74th minute and looked composed under pressure, moving the ball well in midfield in what was a steady cameo.

Bernardo Silva – 5

Was unable to really influence things but also didn’t do anything wrong.

Jack Grealish – N/A

The English winger only played a few minutes so was unable to showcase his ability in that short time frame.

James McAtee – N/A

Similar to Jack Grealish, McAtee came on in the 90th minute and only had the one touch.

Ilkay Gundogan – N/A

The 34-year-old was also given a short amount of time on the pitch, registering zero touches after being subbed on in the 94th minute.

Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night hoping to cement a place in the division’s top-four.

Pep Guardiola and his players come into the clash off the back of back-to-back defeats against Real Madrid to exit the UEFA Champions League before the last-16 stage, and against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

In a mammoth week for the reigning Premier League champions, the visit to North London to take on an ever-difficult Ange Postecoglou side will be followed by an FA Cup fifth round clash against Plymouth Argyle – City’s best hope of silverware this season.

Spurs come into the midweek affair off the back of a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their last home outing, before following up that result with a 1-4 victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

On the fitness and injury front, Manchester City will be without John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb, and Rodri, while the Norwegian forward did return to first-team training this week as he moves closer to a return to first-team action.

Ahead of kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, here is how both Ange Postecoglou and Pep Guardiola have lined up their respective Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City sides in Premier League action!

Tottenham

Starting XI: Vicario; Porro, Gray, Danso, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison (C); Johnson, Tel, Odobert.

Substitutes: Kinsky, Reguilon, Spence, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Werner, Son, Scarlett.

Manchester City

Starting XI: Ederson; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias (C), Gvardiol; Nico, Kovacic, Marmoush; Savinho, Haaland, Doku.

Manchester City look to get back to winning ways once again on Wednesday night as they travel to North London to square off with Tottenham in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s side are fresh off the back of a 0-2 home defeat at the hands of the runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool at the weekend, and will be looking for a bounce-back performance against an injury-ravaged Spurs side.

Fitness issues also continue to plague Manchester City however, as the Sky Blues were without Rodri, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb, and crucially star striker, Erling Haaland against Liverpool on Sunday.

The latter’s status heading into the midweek clash with Tottenham remains up in the air, though he was spotted in full training with Manchester City in the days leading up to the trip to North London.

Oscar Bobb has also returned to training but is unlikely to be risked against Ange Postecoglou’s men in midweek, while the Manchester City manager has since confirmed that John Stones could be sidelined for up to 10 weeks.

With the potential for changes to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City line-up after the defeat to Liverpool at the weekend, let’s take a look at how the Catalan boss may set his side up this time around!

Predicted XI

Ederson should remain in between the sticks for the trip to North London this week after reaffirming his role as number one in recent outings, showcasing his unique ability with the ball in particular.

Manchester City’s defensive set-up will not see too many changes from the weekend, as Rico Lewis will keep his spot out on the right in our view, particularly after Pep Guardiola piled on the praise for the youngster during his pre-match press conference..

Abdukodir Khusanov has made a major impression in recent matches and has slowly begun to cement himself as a bonafide option to start week in, week out. We believe the Uzbek will keep his spot in the team, though he will be joined this time by Ruben Dias.

Josko Gvardiol has been Manchester City’s most consistent performer at times this season and he remains an ever-present at left-back. This time will be no different, with the Croatian continuing to lead Nathan Ake for the role.

As we head into midfield, we could see a major shake-up.

Nico Gonzalez played seemingly by himself in more of an attack-minded midfield set-up against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, but this time around he may be joined by Mateo Kovacic in the central trio.

Ahead of the double-pivot in the Manchester City engine room is Phil Foden, who is still looking for his marquee performance in the Kevin De Bruyne role this season as he aims to find the form that won him a multitude of individual honours during the last campaign.

Jeremy Doku was lively against Liverpool, and while his end-product left a lot to be desired, he should get the nod on the right of City’s front-three to try and wreak havoc against an injury-riddled Spurs rearguard.

After sitting out of the last two matches with a knee injury, Erling Haaland should make his much-anticipated return for the Blues on Wednesday night, although his status coming into the match is somewhat unknown other than his participation in first-team training on Tueday.

Finally, Omar Marmoush has been a stand-out since signing for Manchester City in the January transfer window, and he has played his best off of the left behind the aforementioned Haaland. The Egyptian should get the nod once more this time out.

Predicted XI: Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Nico, Kovacic, Foden; Doku, Haaland, Marmoush.

Manchester City look to get back to winning ways on Wednesday night as they travel to North London to face Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The weekend saw a familiar story unfold for City having had the lion’s share of possession throughout Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool, especially at the beginning of the game when the likes of Jeremy Doku in particular had plenty of joy up against Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Liverpool full-back, while excellent in possession and showcasing his range of passing on numerous occasions, was beaten on multiple occasions by City’s Belgian winger, who unfortunately never picked out a final ball as City struggled to break down Liverpool.

City were not as toothless as they were against Real Madrid, maintaining possession with much more success and attempting to create chances, but most of their efforts came to no avail with the Champions’ front line clearly missing the physical presence of Erling Haaland.

Defensively, however, it was still far too simple for the league leaders to play through City as the home side conceded two relatively avoidable goals due to some fundamentally poor defending from Pep Guardiola’s side, which saw Liverpool ease their way to a 0-2 win.

City’s opponents on Wednesday come into this game with a major confidence boost from their last two fixtures, as Ange Postecoglu’s team have scored five goals and concede just one in a 1-4 victory away at Ipswich and a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their last home fixture.

In terms of the table, the match is vitally important to City as they look to bolster chances at securing UEFA Champions League football for next season. Three points would be massively influential for Pep Guardiola side, with City only ahead of Newcastle on goal difference.

Ahead of the match, Tottenham will have eyes on finishing the season positively and making it into the top half of the division, while Manchester City will rise to third on goal difference with next week’s opponents Nottingham Forest having a game in hand.

This match is hugely important as the race for UEFA Champions League football heats up during the business end of the campaign, and ahead of kick-off from North London, here is everything you need to know!

Match Details

Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 19:30 (UK).

Match Officials

The Premier League have confirmed that Jarred Gillett will be the man in the middle for the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City this Wednesday night.

You can check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

Ange Postcoglou is continuing to battle on without a number of his key stars, as Radu Dragusin remains sidelined for the large majority of 2025 with an ACL injury, and Dominic Solanke and Richarlison are not due back until early next month.

As for Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, the central defensive duo may return slightly earlier than the aforementioned striking pairing, while Timo Werner has a chance at a return against Manchester City following a thigh problem.

As for Manchester City, both John Stones and Manuel Akanji could very well be ruled out for the remainder of the season, with the Swiss international ruled out for up to 10 weeks having undergone surgery on an abductor injury sustained against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.

The Englishman finds himself in a similar situation and a major doubt for the remainder of the campaign following a quadricep injury sustained inside just eight minutes at the Santiago Bernabéu, which Pep Guardiola has revealed may require surgery.

In attack, Erling Haaland is expected to return to matchday duties after absences against Liverpool and Real Madrid. This came after the Norwegian sustained what is thought to be a minor knee problem in the dying moments of the victory against Newcastle.

Head to Head

In their last three fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City have secured just one win – the crucial game in the Premier League title race last May in which the Blues won 0-2 thanks to an Erling Haaland brace.

In their last fixture against the North London side however, City were on the receiving end of a heavy defeat at the Etihad Stadium as part of the club’s torrid run of form across November and December in particular.

James Maddison netted a brace inside 20 minutes at the Etihad Stadium to make the score 0-2 at the break, before former Manchester City full-back Pedro Porro added a third early in the second half.

Brennan Johnson would put the game beyond all reasonable doubt as he fired home a fourth goal for Spurs in stoppage time, making the final score 0-4 and a night to forget for Manchester City.

Statistics

These two clubs have faced each other in 55 league fixtures; City have secured 18 victories in comparison to Tottenham’s 29, with the points being shared eight times. The Blues have had a questionable defensive record however, keeping just 11 clean sheets and conceding 81 goals.

Since 2010, Manchester City have visited Tottenham in 14 league fixtures but have only come away with all three points six times, drawing once and losing the other seven meetings. Five of those victories, however, were prior to the construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the venue at which City have a worse record than at any other Premier League ground.

Prior to Manchester City’s last away trip to North London, the visitors had lost every single league fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium dating all the way back to 2020, failing to score a single Premier League goal at the ground with an aggregate score of 6-0 to the home side across the four-year goal drought.

Manchester City had registered over 100 shots at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in league action before Erling Haaland finally put an end to this torrid record for the Blues netting a second-half brace in a title deciding clash with the home side back in May.

Despite both teams having inconsistent seasons, both find themselves in decent form currently, with Spurs securing three wins out of the last five league fixtures, while City are in similar form, with three victories from the last five game weeks.

Following their 0-4 win the reverse fixture, Spurs are looking to do the league double over Manchester City for the first time since 2021/22. They last did so without conceding in 2009/10.

Tottenham have already beaten Manchester City twice this season, 0-4 in the Premier League and 2-1 in the EFL Cup. The last team to win three games in a campaign against the reigning English champions were Manchester United (vs Manchester City in 2019/20), while the last time Spurs did so was in 1984/85 (vs Liverpool).

Tottenham have beaten Manchester City twice and Manchester United three times in all competitions this season – no team has ever beaten both Manchester sides three times each in the same campaign before.

Manchester City have failed to win any of their last three Premier League away games against London sides (D2, L1), having won six in a row before this. They last had a longer run without a win in the capital between February and November 2020 (4), while they last did so in the same season in 2014/15 (5).

How to Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will be available on TNT Sports or Discovery+ with the game getting underway at 19:30.

For viewers in the United States, they are able to stream the game from 13:30 Eastern on Peacock.

You can find full global TV listings for the match here!

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will play out their reverse fixture in the Premier League on Wednesday night after one to forget last time out for the visitors.

Pep Guardiola’s players succumbed to a remarkable 0-4 home defeat to Ange Postecoglou’s side in their last meeting, in the earlier stages of the torrid run that ran from November through to the end of December and largely derailed their campaign.

This will also be the third and final meeting between the two sides this season having met in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup earlier in the campaign, and with the hosts out of the FA Cup prior to this weekend’s fifth round.

It is yet again a must-win fixture for Manchester City in particular, as the reigning champions look to end their season on a positive note and secure a fourth-placed finish to feature in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

The Etihad side come into the contest off the back of a 0-2 home defeat to the expected soon-to-be Premier League champions on Sunday afternoon, as Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai struck beyond Ederson in somewhat of a comfortable afternoon for Arne Slot’s squad.

Now, ahead of the meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, the Premier League have announced the list of match officials to oversee proceedings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!

Match Referee

Australian referee Jarred Gillett will oversee proceedings between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City from the role of on-field match referee this week, in what will be his ninth English top-flight outing of the ongoing season.

Across his previous eight fixtures in the Premier League so far this campaign, the 38-year-old has handed out 37 yellow cards and awarded two penalties, but is yet to dismiss any player via a second yellow card or red card dismissal.

Gillett and Manchester City have already met on one occasion in the Premier League this season as Pep Guardiola’s side played out a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United – a fixture that saw eight yellow cards handed out (four each) and a penalty awarded to Eddie Howe’s side.

Manchester City are yet to lose a game that has been officiated by Jarred Gillett having been officiated by the Australian eight times in total, only dropping points against Newcastle on two different occasions.

There is also silverware memories involving City and Gillett, as he took charge of the 2024 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium in which last season’s Premier League champions claimed the title over rivals Manchester United via a penalty shoot-out.

Assistant Referees

Aiding Jarred Gillett from the role of assistant referees in North London on Wednesday night will be Ian Hussin and Darren Cann, the Premier League have confirmed.

Video Assistant Referees

Operating from Stockley Park and taking on positions from the VAR Hub for the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be Graham Scott in the role of Video Assistant Referee, supported by Assistant Video Assistant Referee, Sian Massey-Ellis.

Fourth Official

Manchester City suffered a fifth consecutive loss in all competitions after falling to a 0-4 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

A unsurprising defeat and cruel exchange with records at the full-time whistle was a return to action to forget for Pep Guardiola and his players in their latest outing against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite a few shaky pieces of play, Manchester City appeared to be playing fluid football in the opening minutes of the contest. But it took Spurs only 10 minutes to destroy the illusion – exposing the reigning champions for all of their faults.

The Blues created a few chances mostly ending with Erling Haaland missing the mark. Phil Foden combined with Josko Gvardiol to steer past the Spurs’ defence a few times, but while impressive in attack, the Croatian would soon be punished for his defensive duties.

Dejan Kulusevski caught Gvardiol off guard and escaped with the ball before curling it in with a splendid pass to find James Madison. The midfielder found space between John Stones and Kyle Walker and glided past defenders to send the ball past Ederson into the corner.

The visitors continued to build pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men, with their relentless attacks paying off sooner than City expected. A misplaced pass from Gvardiol saw Maddison pounce on the ball and roll it in Son Heung-min’s path, before making a diagonal run inside the box.

The Spurs forward patiently waited for the ball before passing it back to Madison, who dinked it over Ederson for 0-2. The hosts went on to create a handful of chances but failed to bring any to fruition. Ederson was thoroughly tested, as City’s defence repeatedly fell apart.

Things were hardly different in the second half, with the visiting side quickly adding a third. Kulusevski once again found his way past City’s defence, beating three players with some help from Son to find Dominic Solanke, and the latter cut it back for Pedro Porro to fire home.

Kevin De Bruyne’s introduction a little over the hour mark sparked a relentless wave of attacks from the Blues. City forwards forced Vicario to make multiple crucial saves within a small window, but the Spurs goalkeeper stood his ground withstanding all pressure.

Like the previous goals, City were punished with a sudden counter-attack in the final moments. Timo Werner glided past Walker to find a myriad of space and rolled the ball into the path of Brennan Johnson, who netted a fourth goal for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

This marked the first time Pep Guardiola suffered a fifth consecutive defeat in his managerial career. The Catalan has a considerable task ahead of him as Manchester City remain five points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of their Premier League clash this weekend.

Here’s how we believe the Manchester City players fared in their clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening, as attentions will immediately turn to a UEFA Champions League meeting against Feyenoord on Tuesday night.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 6

Conceded goals that were as typical as they come, made crucial saves, and at times, appeared as the only saving grace at the back

Kyle Walker – 4

Spun around, outpaced and outmatched, but managed to keep Son from posing more threat.

John Stones – 5

Made crucial interceptions at the back but should have done better in the first two goals.

Manuel Akanji – 5

Unable to cope with the intensity of Spurs’ relentless attacks, was caught off-guard on a few occasions.

Josko Gvardiol – 5

Was outplayed by Dejan Kulusevski, who grew increasingly comfortable attacking down the right side as the game progressed, two mistakes leading to goals. Offered plenty of hope in attack, though.

Bernardo Silva – 5

Exceptional work rate, and yet, nothing to show for the same, ran back and forth but made no significant difference to attack or defence.

Ilkay Gundogan – 4

Struggled in his pairing with Rico Lewis, was poor in his forward passes, and barely offered help top the defensive line-up.

Rico Lewis – 4

Appeared to be somewhat nervous in the defensive midfield role, ended up being a liability for the defensive line-up.

Savinho – 5

Made impressive runs moving forward but made poor choices with his final play.

Phil Foden – 5

Tried creating multiple chances and commanded the attacks from the midfield but failed to pierce through the Spurs’ defence as often as he would have liked.

Erlin Haaland – 4

Missed several of his chances, far from his goal-scoring form for club lately.

Substitutes

Nathan Ake – 5

Replaced John Stones and found himself overwhelmed by Dominic Solanke, should have done better for the third goal.

Kevin De Bruyne – 5.5

Ignited a fire in Manchester City’s attack despite the limited presence, created chances to spark a new hope amidst his side but to no avail.

Jack Grealish – 4

Received the ball, made his runs, tricked the defenders, and nothing came of it.

Manchester City return to action in the Premier League after the November international break, and they do so against big-six rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Etihad Stadium outfit should head into the clash against the North London club with renewed energy, despite losing four straight matches across all competitions before the break. Just days ago, Pep Guardiola penned his future at the club for two more years until 2027.

It is not the first time the club have extended the Catalan manager’s contract in the midst of a losing run, cementing their faith in the decorated coach’s ability to continue leading the side into the future.

They will need to quickly rectify their recent form however, as Liverpool begin to break away in the Premier League under Arne Slot, and they can start with a statement win against the side that knocked them out of the League Cup just a few weeks ago — Tottenham Hotspur.

Ahead of the Premier League showdown, let’s take a look at how Manchester City may line-up, keeping in mind the continue to be ravaged by injuries!

Predicted XI

Ederson will maintain his role as the number one between the sticks for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, despite playing for Brazil during the international break and making the long flight back to Europe later than some of his teammates in action elsewhere on the continent.

Kyle Walker has had a dip in form this season, but injuries elsewhere may just force Pep Guardiola into deploying the veteran full-back against his former team, taking his captain’s armband for the fixture.

Meanwhile, there has been some good news on the fitness front as both Manuel Akanji and John Stones trained in the week leading up the Spurs clash, and we expect that duo to patrol the centre of defence.

Josko Gvardiol has been arguably the most consistent performer for Manchester City this season, and should maintain his stranglehold on the left-back role having extended his fine form in front of goal over to the Croatia national side earlier this week.

Things start to get interesting as we head into midfield. With Mateo Kovacic ruled out through injury and likely to stay sidelined for up to a month, the makeshift midfield could be a double-pivot of Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis.

Ahead of that duo it gets trickier. Kevin De Bruyne maintained his involvement in training this week, but we expect the Belgian to be deployed as a ‘super-sub’ while he gets back up to speed in matches. That means Phil Foden will take up the key creator role behind the striker.

Bernardo Silva could be key for Pep Guardiola with injuries elsewhere, and will likely be important in trying to wrestle back control with Kovacic and Rodri out. We do expect him to float in and out of midfield, rotating with Phil Foden on the centre-right of the pitch.

That leaves the seemingly two automatic attackers for Pep Guardiola these days, with Matheus Nunes taking up his ‘usual’ role on the left of Manchester City’s front-three, and the ever-present Erling Haaland through the middle to lead the line.

Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Lewis, Foden; Bernardo, Haaland, Nunes.

Manchester City manager has shutdown comparison between Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski during a media conference this week.

Questions surrounding the pair emerged as the Swedish playmaker played an integral role in Tottenham successfully overcoming the challenge of Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

First-half goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were responded to by Matheus Nunes for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were ultimately unable to add to their scoring output and exited the League Cup in the earlier stages once again.

One player who has continued to be absent from the Manchester City matchday squad is Kevin De Bruyne, who maintains presence in first-team training but feels as though he is continuing to lack match readiness and is not wanting to take any risks on his fitness.

Speaking at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Manchester City’s 2-1 exit from the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola was questioned whether Dejan Kulusevski is similar to Kevin De Bruyne after a strong performance once again from the Swede.

“No. Nobody is like Kevin,” Guardiola insisted.

“In his prime? The amount of things that Kevin produces in a game, nobody can do it!”

An update was also provided on the fitness of De Bruyne after the contest, with Pep Guardiola believing that it is unlikely the 33-year-old will return to any sort of match action before the international break in November.

Alongside the Belgian international, there is also a belief that Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish will not feature in that same time, in addition to Jeremy Doku alongside lengthier absentees in Oscar Bobb and Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri.

Manchester City have received an important update on the fitness of Manuel Akanji following his late withdrawal from the starting line-up against Tottenham this week.

The mainstay central defender in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-ups this season was selected to start against Ange Postecoglou’s side on Wednesday night alongside John Stones in the heart of the City defence.

However, upon emerging for the pre-match handshakes and various routines, it emerged that Akanji had withdrawn late and was replaced by Ruben Dias alongside Stones, with the Portugal international also taking the captain’s armband for the contest.

During his post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola told reporters, “In the last action, felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good. He said, ‘No I can take a risk’, and I said, ‘No, no risk!'”

Now, speaking during a new interview with Sky Sports News’ Anton Toloui, Manuel Akanji has revealed his intention to be fit and available for City against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, whilst also revealing the reason why he pulled out of the midweek contest.

The 29-year-old told Sky Sports News that he is hoping to be back in Manchester City first-team training on Friday, and as such be ready for selection at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

The Switzerland international has revealed that he had pulled out of the Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham after feeling a tightness in his groin during the warm-up alongside his City teammates.

City are however continuing to await final assessments and scans regarding the injury sustained by Savinho at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after the Brazilian was substituted in the second-half with an ankle problem and withdrawn with the aid of a stretcher.

Sources close to the player have told City Xtra that the injury is ‘nothing serious’ and ‘just a scare’, however many supporters will recall the initial positive feeling around Rodri’s knee injury sustained against Arsenal before the worst case scenario was later confirmed.

Pep Guardiola will provide an update on more than eight first-team stars when he faces the media on Friday afternoon, with Manchester City travelling to the south coast later on the same day.

The injury sustained by Savinho is nothing serious and ‘just a scare’, sources close to the player have told City Xtra.

The Brazil international became Manchester City’s eighth injury blow on Wednesday night after sustaining a blow to his ankle during the club’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham in North London.

Savinho’s early exit from the contest in the second-half followed a pre-match casualty, as Manuel Akanji was withdrawn from the starting line-up with a muscular issue sustained in the warm-ups, while Josko Gvardiol was treated at full-time by club medical staff.

Speaking during his post-match press conference, manager Pep Guardiola said of Savinho’s injury, “He had a knock in the 18-yard box, potential penalty, and we’ll see tomorrow what happened.

“We have to see if it just a knock or something else, because it was on the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

Now, sources close to the player have informed City Xtra that the injury sustained in the second-half of the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham is ‘just a scare’, with official scans still to come from the City Football Academy.

Colleagues at City Xtra Portuguese have also stated that the 20-year-old is ‘fine’ having sustained ‘nothing serious’ on Wednesday night, despite initial concerns after the Brazilian was stretchered off the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch.

Manchester City will be hoping for the same indications to emerge from scans on Savinho’s injury on Thursday, with the fixtures continuing to be unrelenting for Pep Guardiola’s squad with three away fixtures remaining before the international break.

A visit to both Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League will be sandwiched by matchday four of the UEFA Champions League and a visit to Sporting CP in Lisbon, managed by Ruben Amorim prior to his Manchester United move.

Confirmed absentees from the weekend’s clash against Andoni Iraola’s side, as per Pep Guardiola speaking during his media conference on Wednesday night, consist of Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish.