Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City – 05/02/2023, 4:30pm
Spurs boss Antonio Conte is set to miss Sunday’s date with Manchester City after undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder.
The responsibilities will likely be taken over by assistant coach Christian Stellini, who has already filled in for Conte a number of times.
Whether Conte’s absence will help or hinder Spurs is open to debate, but things are not quite right at the club.
Wins over Fullham and Preston in the FA Cup have steadied the ship after three defeats in four Premier League games recently.
One of those losses was a 4-2 reverse at Man City last month. Spurs were 2-0 up at The Etihad at half-time, but Riyad Mahrez inspired a second-half comeback with City scoring four times.
It’s hardly the fixture Spurs would want at this current time. They have won six of their 10 home games, but each time they have come up against a big rival they have come out on the losing side.
Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal have all won in north London, while Aston Villa also chalked up a memorable victory.
To date, barring Villa, Conte’s men have rolled over all the teams you would expect them to and lost against sides you would have expected them to lose to.
‘Flat-track’ bullies springs to mind, but Spurs will struggle to bully City on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola gave his side a rocket after the recent win over Spurs, claiming he did not recognise his team.
They have since recorded a straight-forward win over Wolves and a hard-earned FA Cup win over their title rivals Arsenal.
It’s the kick up the backside his team may have needed. They are now threatening to put a run together that could push Arsenal to their limits, with their front players starting to click into some sort of form.
They have not been unbeatable away, though, with two defeats and two draws handing Arsenal the advantage in the title race.
A glimpse at their xG away from home though has them leading the way on (2.11), while their xGA away from home is also the best at 1.07.
The modelling suggests that City have not quite got what they deserved away from home this season.
That could be ominous for Spurs, who have conceded 15 goals already in 10 home games to date.
The stats show that both teams are slow starters with Spurs scoring only six times in the first half at home, while City have scored just five goals in the first half of matches away from home.
With that in mind it may take another rant from Pep to get City focused, but they should be good enough to take the points against Spurs.
Key stats
- Man City are undefeated in 29 of their last 32 PL matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Man City’s last three PL games
- Manchester City’s last away PL win against Tottenham Hotspur was in 2018
- Last season Tottenham Hotspur won both games against Manchester City (1-0 at home and 3-2 away)
- Tottenham Hotspur have scored in eight of their 10 home PL matches
- Manchester City have scored in eight of their nine away PL matches
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