Manchester City will be looking to end a rare run of defeats under Pep Guardiola when they host Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur in Week 12 on Sunday evening. After beating Southampton in the last week of October, City have been at the receiving end of four successive defeats across all competitions and were handed an early exit from the League Cup.
Guardiola will be hoping that the November international break brings around a change in the club’s fortunes. His side are already five points behind leaders Liverpool and are due to face Arne Slot’s men in Week 13. Should City lose to both Spurs and Liverpool, they could potentially be a whopping 11 points behind the Reds with just a third of the season completed.
The manner of the 2-1 loss to Brighton- their most recent defeat, would’ve stung for Guardiola. City dominated Brighton in the first half, but the Seagulls turned the tables on the Citizens with a second-half tactical masterclass.
Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler introduced Carlos Baleba at half time- a game-changing substitution, and the home side’s pressing and attacking proved too hot for City to deal with, especially on Kyle Walker’s side where the veteran defender found it difficult to contain the dual threat of Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro. The Brazilian and Matt O’Riley were the scorers for Albion that evening as they completed a famous come-from-behind victory.
While this is the longest run of defeats for Guardiola in his managerial career, it must be noted that all four losses have come on the road. This weekend is the first time in nearly a month that City will be playing in familiar home conditions at the Etihad.
Despite City’s slight dip in form, Bovada Sports still expects Pep Guardiola’s side to get the better of Tottenham this weekend. Spurs have been the epitome of inconsistent this season in the league, beating Man Utd and Villa but also going down to the likes of Crystal Palace and Ipswich.
The above-mentioned home defeat to Ipswich was also the first time that the Tractor Boys had won in the Premier League this season. Sammie Szmodics’ superb bicycle kick put ITFC 1-0 up, and the visitors doubled their advantage through Liam Delap just before the interval. Spurs pulled one back through a Rodrigo Bentancur header from a corner midway through the second half, but were unable to find an equalising goal despite their best efforts.
To compound matters, Bentancur is also expected to be unavailable for Spurs this weekend, with the Uruguayan having been handed a seven-game domestic ban by the league for a comment about team-mate Heung-Min Son in an interview. The Lilywhites have appealed against the decision, but the ban is unlikely to be rescinded.
It was Spurs who began City’s current losing run with a 2-1 victory in the League Cup. They’ve also been City’s bogey team of sorts in recent years, but most of those wins have been at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rather than the Etihad.
The referee for this clash is John Brooks, who also oversaw their 3-1 win over Brentford in Week 5. Brooks is yet to take charge of a MCFC game this season, but their fans will be encouraged by the fact that no home team has been beaten under him so far in the 24/25 season (see below).
