Bitter and Blue

Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur in a midweek Premier League clash.

The Blues are fresh off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to top of the table Liverpool, whilst Spurs are 13th but on the up after a comfortable 4-1 win away to Ipswich at the weekend.

Both sides have struggled with consistency and injuries this season, but continue to play attacking possession based football which should make for an entertaining affair.

Here are five things to look out for in City’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium:

Battle between the City wingers and Spurs full backs

Particularly after the weekend, City’s wingers and Spurs’s full backs will come under scrutiny.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho were both bright against Liverpool, but failed to offer any end product.

They twisted Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson respectively inside out, but the they struggled, partially down to having no Erling Haaland in the middle but also due to their own shortcomings.

For Spurs, Djed Spence has done an admirable job of stepping in at left back whilst Destiny Udogie has been injured, and now the Italian full back is fit again, it’s expected that Spence will switch to his preferred position of right back.

Spence and Udogie can match Doku and Savinho in terms of speed, mobility and physicality, and are capable defenders too, which should make for an interesting and potentially match deciding encounter.

Return of Haaland

City’s number nine will hopefully be back in the equation against Spurs, and they’ve really missed him.

One goal - a last minute consolation from a defensive midfielder - in two games without Haaland shows little promise to how the attack copes without him.

His box presence draws defenders towards him and creates space for others. He’s also lethal when he does get the ball in the box, scoring recently against Chelsea, Real Madrid, Arsenal and PSG amongst others.

Particularly with Tottenham Hotspur’s man to man system and aggressive pressing, Haaland will make the world of difference if he starts.

De Bruyne on the bench

After a disappointing performance against Liverpool, I expect De Bruyne to start on the bench against Spurs.

He’s unfortunately lost a yard of pace and sharpness, which means he isn’t the explosive, dynamic, dangerous, combative elite midfielder he once was.

The logistical change would be to bring Haaland in and move Phil Foden deeper, but if Haaland can’t play I’d expect Ilkay Gundogan or James McAtee to come in and play in the advanced midfield role.

Who knows which teams will turn up

This game could genuinely be 5-0 to either side.

City and Spurs have both been inconsistent all season. The home side are on something of an upward curve now a few key players are back, and they can cause City problems.

But the same applies to the Blues. Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku have all missed large parts of the season with injury, but all are fit again and are ready to make an impact.

If City play as they did against Newcastle or even if they control the game as they did against Liverpool, I think there’s a very strong chance they’ll win. But you never know nowadays whether City will deliver.

An excellent away following!

One thing that’s guaranteed is that City will bring a brilliant away support as always.

Many football fans accept that City’s away support is among the best in the Premier League, and it’s in big stadiums with good atmospheres like this where it’s most noticeable.

It’s my first away game. I was able to buy tickets fairly easily as a season ticket holder and I’m sure it’ll be a great day out regardless of the result.

At a time where City’s ticketing strategy is attracting attention for all the wrong reasons, it’s nice to remember the brilliant (and evergrowing) away support that will always be a part of City.

Manchester City were thrashed by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium to end their nearly two year long home unbeaten run and pile on the misery with a fifth consecutive defeat.

A James Maddison brace and goals from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson subjected City to their heaviest ever defeat at the Etihad Stadium and punished the Blues for their sloppy finishing and complacent defending.

Here are three things we learned as City lost again:

Change is needed in January

City struggle to some extent every year at this stage of the season under Pep Guardiola, but never have they suffered in the way they’re doing now.

Five defeats, 14 goals conceded and just four scored symbolises a dismal month or so for the Blues, and it’s clear that this can’t continue.

Kyle Walker has been poor all season and looks to have lost a yard of pace as well as a lot of concentration and his aura of invincibility.

Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Nathan Ake aren’t fully fit, Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol are showing signs of inexperience due to fatigue and overuse and it feels like a long time since we’ve seen Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne or Ilkay Gundogan have a properly good game.

That’s ten key players - as well as the injured Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jeremy Doku and Mateo Kovacic - that are not at their best, which takes its toll on the squad and the performances on the pitch.

City will probably sign at least a new defensive midfielder in January, and it feels that a striker wouldn’t go amiss either to replace Julian Alvarez and add more goals to the squad.

Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad (who has a £51.4 million release clause in his contract) and Ederson from Atalantsa would seem to be the two main contenders to be brought in, both of whom wouldn’t demand to play every minute and could easily play alongside Rodri when he returns next season.

A striker is less likely in January but would be ideal, with the idea of triggering Liam Delap’s £20 million buy back clause from Ipswich Town an appealing option given the way he’s started this campaign with six goals in 12 games, particularly if the Tractor Boys end up getting relegated.

The Blues should never be written off; as good as Liverpool have been so far this season they’re not invincible and City will be back to their best soon, particularly if they do decide to recruit in January, but either way it’s a big summer approaching for new director of football Hugo Vianna.

Pep Guardiola is the only man to take City forward

If there was any doubt as to whether City had made the right decision in renewing their manager’s contract for another two years, Guardiola’s response to the game should prove it.

The Catalan hasn’t hesitated to call City out before in the past when he feels the intensity levels aren’t right (remember his explosive press conference after the comeback victory against Spurs in 2023 that was the turning point of the Treble winning season) but he hasn’t been like this during this run.

There are deficiencies to City’s game, particularly the weak midfield, but Guardiola himself has admitted that this would be solved if he was able to play Stones or Akanji in midfield but they’re needed at centre back at this moment in time.

Feyenoord will be an opportunity for some of the players to play their way back into form before the trip to Anfield next Sunday, a game which Guardiola will already be devising a plan for.

Even if City lose to Arne Slot’s side (as I’m sure many predict they will do) it’s not an unretrievable gap, certainly not for these players and this coach.

Effort and desire couldn’t be less of an issue

As touched upon above, I have absolutely no concerns regarding the application and effort of the players on the pitch.

Plenty of the players being heavily criticised by supporters - namely Walker, Gundogan, Bernardo, Foden and Haaland - are modern day City legends and have served the club well for many years.

If Guardiola had any concerns about their attitude, they’d be straight out the door, as evidenced by João Cancelo’s isolating and even Yaya Toure’s omission during his first few months in charge.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach is a born winner and has the highest standards, and whilst he’s not happy with the results he has no complaints with the work rate of his players.

For the first goal, Josko Gvardiol was at fault for giving Dejan Kulusevski too much time, but it was still a good ball and finish from Maddison.

The Croatian was to blame again for the second goal with a miscued pass, whilst the third goal was a general purpose counter attack from Spurs where Walker dived in perhaps unnecessarily on the halfway line and City couldn’t get back quickly enough.

The fourth goal was the only one where a lack of effort could be argued, as Walker seemed to lose focus and let Timo Werner pass him way too easily, and Johnson merely outpaced Gundogan at the back post to score.

City will return to form soon, and so long as Guardiola is happy with the way his players are trying on the pitch then I can’t really complain , and certainly not about the passion and effort provided by the players.

Another international break is over and we can now get back to the Premier League. City have lost their last four matches, if you didn’t already know, and, ironically, that run started at Spurs. Now we come full circle and welcome the North London side to the Etihad Stadium, with the Blues desperate to end that dismal run.

Manager Pep Guardiola signed a new 2-year contract in the week and City will be eager to reward his commitment by taking three points this afternoon.

As usual, our team are here to give us their views and predictions on how the match will go.

Saul

Big one and some players should be back. Still, I expect a real fight in all areas of the pitch. Narrow win.

City 2-1 Spurs

Thomas

The International Break is over. Important lads have returned to training. Pep is extending his stay at the Etihad according to reports that me be official by the time this goes to print. A fresh start after a needed pause and fresh legs to help the effort. I’ll go for at least one from Haaland with an assist from KDB. Oh yeah, and I’m off the Twitter (X). Find me at Bluesky. @duckman4real.bsky.social. City for the win!

City 3-1 Spurs

Will

I have a good feeling about this.

The international break, combined with the release of the City+ Four-In-A-Row Documentary and Pep Guardiola’s decision to renew his contract until 2026 at the earliest, has restored the feel club factor around the club, and this could very much be a turning point in City’s season.

So much so, I’m even going to predict a clean sheet - alongside a convincing victory.

Manchester City 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Dillon

This isn’t the first time Spurs are the first match after a Pep extension in November. City didn’t win last time but I don’t expect the same feeling now.

Call it homerism, favouritism, whatever you want. I expect a Manchester City win.

City 2-0 Spurs

Pete

I really hate playing Spurs both home and away. I don’t hate the team, it’s just the fixture as we never know what to expect. Will City turn on the style? Succumb to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a goal that hits both posts, the crossbar and goes in off the keeper? Probably. I don’t know what to predict so I’m going for a draw.

City 2-2 Spurs

Last Time Out

I can’t even remember who we played last time, these stupid international breaks are really getting on my nerves.

Anyway, after looking back, it was Brighton who beat us last time out and Doubting Thomas was absolutely spot on with his prediction. He went for 2-1 when the rest of us had mixed feelings.

Here’s the table:

First half goals from Timo Werner and Pape Matar Sarr helped Tottenham Hotspur on their way to knocking Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup.

Matheus Nunes pulled one back just before the break but it ultimately wasn’t enough for the Blues, who will be more concerned by the apparent injuries picked up by Savinho and Manuel Akanji leaving them with just 11 fit outfield players for their match against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Here are three things we learned as City lost to Spurs:

Injuries are destroying this City side

The Blues are really suffering at the moment with as many as eight players unavailable.

Rodri is out for the season. Oscar Bobb is out until the new year at the very least and Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Jeremy Doku have innocuous injuries with no timescale on them.

Add to that Savinho and Akanji’s (thankfully minor looking) injuries and it’s looking really bleak.

They can still field an exceptionally strong starting XI with the likes of Erling Haaland, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis definitely fit, but it’d leave next to no options on the bench.

Anymore injuries will spark full on crisis mode but right now, City are just about coping.

Nunes is having a second season revival

Many City players have struggled in their first season at the club, but not many have done so more than Nunes.

The Portuguese international barely got a look in during his first season with Kovacic, De Bruyne, Foden and Bernardo all ahead of him in the pecking order.

Add Gundogan and James McAtee to the mix, and it looked as though his City days were numbered with a move to Atletico Madrid rumoured.

But in Doku and Grealish’s absence particularly Nunes has been enjoying himself, with two goals and three assists in his last three matches on the left hand side.

His pace, strong ball carrying and good control means he makes a more than effective winger who is beginning to get himself more involved with the goals.

In such a serious injury crisis Nunes is making himself an important member of the team and is really improving the long term security of his City future at the same time.

City’s quality is often forgotten

With all the headlines being on the players City have that are unavailable, it might just help to remember which members of the squad are still fit and available.

They have the best striker in the world, last season’s PFA Player of the Season and numerous Ballon d’Or nominees from this season in their ranks, which is more than anything their next few opponents have to offer.

It’s clearly not ideal to have so many injuries all at once, particularly ones set to rule players out for the long term, but the quality of players City still have available means there’s no huge need to panic.

Their ability is often overlooked in situations such as this, and it’d certainly be beneficial for City fans to back the players that are available rather than concentrate only on those who aren’t.

The League Cup is here!

Manchester City’s preferred competition resumes as they face a game Spurs side,

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham, London

Time and Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2024, Kickoff at 20:15 GMT, 4.15 pm (EST)

Referee: Robert Jones

Assistants: Neil Davies and Simon Long

Fourth Official: David Coote

TV Info: SKY Sports (UK), ESPN+ (USA), SPORTSNET (Canada)

LiveStream: ***ESPN+ SIGN UP HERE FOR 7 DAY FREE TRIAL (USA)

Preview

A fun match here as two new entrants fight for advancement. The match should be a lot of fun as both clubs are looking to be alive in this cup.

In this match, the questions are who will play in midfield for City as they suffer through injuries. For Spurs, it will be how they deal with City’s forwards.

Team News

Man City will have Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake as questionable or out.

Spurs have Spence and Son out/questionable.

Prediction

Manchester City are expected to field a youthful side as they face Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Manager Pep Guardiola commented after City knocked Watford out with a 2-1 victory in the third round that he would play the “second team” if there was an injury crisis, which appears to be the case at present.

The Blues are plagued with injuries at the moment, with Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku and Kyle Walker all currently injured.

James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly will probably start, whilst Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias amongst others should be afforded a rest with many youth players coming into the side.

Here are five things to look out for in City’s cup clash:

O’Reilly staking a claim in defensive midfield

Of all of City’s young players, it’s O’Reilly who will view the Spurs game as an opportunity to thrive the most.

The 19 year old had a fantastic pre-season playing for the first team and has been a part of recent matchday squads due to City’s injuries.

He’s a regular for the EDS when fit and is one of their key players in the middle of the park, whether that be playing as a pivot or even as high up as a number ten.

I expect he’ll play at the base of midfield against Tottenham, with McAtee ahead of him as the most advanced midfielder and perhaps Ilkay Gundogan for some of the game (as he didn’t start against Southampton last weekend.)

A midfield of this trio is far from full strength, but is strong enough for City to give Ange Postecoglou’s side a tricky game even at full strength and will hopefully give O’Reilly the chance to have a Rico Lewis 2022/23-esque season by earning more minutes through his performances.

City’s youth talent vs Tottenham’s youth talent

Both City and their opponents have a promising crop of young players coming through the ranks who could take their opportunity to shine on Wednesday night.

For the Blues, McAtee and O’Reilly have been mentioned already but the likes of Kaden Braithwaite, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Jacob Wright, Will Dickon and Farid Alfa-Ruprecht cannot be overlooked.

For Spurs, they have numerous young stars in the shape of Lucas Bergvall, Will Lankshear and Archie Gray, but their standout talent is Mikey Moore.

The 17 year old started his first Premier League game in Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday and shone last week as they beat AZ Alkmaar by the same scoreline in the Europa League.

Moore can play in midfield and all along the frontline, and will no doubt give a headache to whoever he comes up against in the City backline.

But City have players of their own that can cause an inexperienced Spurs side issues, which should make for an entertaining spectacle.

First team players’ minutes managed

The main priority from Guardiola’s point of view will be to get through the game without any injuries, so managing his key players’ minutes will be key.

For the likes of Haaland, Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic, I’d expect them to rest after having played most minutes in the league so far this season and their respective importance to the team.

Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Rico Lewis have played a lot too, but their tendency to avoid injuries and young age for the latter two means there’s a chance they’ll play some minutes.

Gundogan and Nathan Ake should play too having missed out on the Southampton match last weekend, though I expect John Stones will sit this one out due to his previous patchy injury record.

None of the above players will play a full ninety minutes I wouldn’t expect, as Guardiola will be extremely careful with his substitutions in order to minimise injury risk.

Losing this game wouldn’t be ideal but the higher priority will be placed on the league, and I’m sure Guardiola would happily field the EDS if he deemed it the best way of achieving success in the league and in Europe.

Even match between two teams of the same philosophy

City’s likely weakened team should close the gulf of quality between the two teams - which is great for the neutral.

Postecoglou’s bold system is very eye-catching to watch and against a team posing less threat he’ll be more likely to fully utilise his attacking system where both full backs tuck into central attacking midfield positions.

But as mentioned above, a City team mixed with academy players and first teamers is still a force to be reckoned with, and will more than match Tottenham even if they put out a strong lineup.

It should be an equal affair, where both teams look to attack and score goals whilst having frailties that lead them to be fairly weak defensively and from the point of view of an unbiased observer, it should be thoroughly entertaining to watch.

City getting knocked out being for the greater good

As briefly mentioned above, City would have a greater chance of winning the biggest silverware if they lose out at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Their small squad is currently being stretched due to a severe number of injuries, several of whom are out for the long term.

They’ve lost their most important player (and the Ballon D’Or holder) in Rodri for the rest of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament tear whilst Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne’s age seems to be counting against them as they struggle to regain their fitness with no dates for their return.

From their opponents’ perspective, Spurs have gone 16 years without winning a trophy and after Postecoglou talked the talk in pre-season about “always winning” in his second season, he’ll likely be putting priority on the cups to prove he can walk the walk.

City’s schedule would be much lighter in the winter without having to contend with the closing stages of the Carabao Cup and emphasis can instead be put on the more prestigious FA Cup instead, which gets underway at the start of January.

And whilst it’s never good to wish, or even predict, defeat on a City side from a fan’s perspective, it seems quite likely to me that Spurs will progress into the next round but it’ll be far from the end of the world.