Man City vs Tottenham predicted line-ups: hosts change five including £100m winger drop as Spurs switch five
Manchester City will look to reclaim top spot in the Premier League this weekend, but face a tricky test against Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs. The Cityzens were held to a draw last weekend against Liverpool. Spurs’ stunning start to the season has been cut short by a number of injuries to the side, and their early season title charge took another hammer blow last weekend, as they sunk to a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. As things stand, Pep Guardiola’s champions are in second, trailing current league leaders Arsenal by one point, while Spurs have slipped to fifth in the table following three defeats on the trot – however, the tightly packed nature of the upper half of the table means Postecoglou’s men could to within touching distance of the table’s summit with a big away win against last season’s treble winners. Here is the latest team news, injury updates and predicted XIs for both sides, ahead of Sunday afternoon’s blockbuster contest:
The Cityzens rested a number of key players for their midweek clash against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, but still managed to come back from two goals down to earn a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium. Man City’s injury list centres, appropriately, around the central midfield area – Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are all still out with injury. Despite being short of the top quality trio, Guardiola still has a number of fine options at his disposal including Phillips, Rodri, Lewis and Stones. Other than the aforementioned midfield three, it’s a clean bill of health for City. Goalkeeper and defence German stopper Stefan Ortega started in Tuesday’s win over Leipzig, but Brazil star Ederson is expected to reclaim the gloves for Spurs’ visit on Sunday. Guardiola shuffled his pack – as he is often prone to do, much to the chagrin of Fantasy Premier League managers – in midweek, but is expected to return some key players to the line-up this weekend. Kyle Walker looks set to start on the right side of defence, with Nathan Ake and Ruben Diaz in the middle. Josko Gvardiol looks the most likely candidate to complete the fluid back line. Midfield and attack England midfielder Kalvin Phillips’ hopes of getting game time before Euro 2024 don’t look set to receive a boost this weekend, but his fellow countryman John Stones could be recalled to partner Rodri in the heart of midfield. City face a real headache – albeit an ice cream headache rather than a full blown migraine – over who to select on the left wing, but Jeremy Doku’s fine form in the league should see him just edge out Jack Grealish. Elsewhere across City’s star-studded front line expect to see World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, as well as the ever dependable Bernardo Silva. Leading the line? Silly question: it’s going to be the ravenous goal guzzling machine Erling Haaland. Man City predicted XI: Ederson; Gvardiol, Dias, Ake, Walker; Rodri, Stones; Alvarez, Silva, Grealish, Haaland.
Having had their back line ripped to shreds with an untimely combination of suspensions and injuries, Spurs will be relieved to welcome back Cristian Romero to the defence on Sunday. However, his partner Micky van de Ven won’t be joining him, as he continues to recover from the hamstring injury suffered in last month’s 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea. Elsewhere, star summer signing James Maddison remains on the treatment table, jostling for space with Rodrigo Bentancur and Brazilian forward Richarlison. The good news from a Spurs point of view, however, is that Yves Bissouma will join Romero in returning from suspension. However, Ryan Sessegnon, Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon are all set to be out of action for some time.
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