The latest meeting between these two clubs ended 4-2 in favour of Man City, courtesy of second-half strikes from Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez.
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Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are set to go head-to-head for the second time in two weeks, when the two teams meet in a Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening. The latest meeting between these two clubs ended 4-2 in favour of Man City. Although Spurs scored twice towards the end of the first half to take a 2-0 lead, Cityzens came out all guns blazing in the second half and leveled the score through strikes from Jlian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. And then, Riyad Mahrez’s brace sealed the win for Pep guardiola’s side. As of now Man City are sitting at the second spot in the English top tier standings, having collected 45 points from 20 games, five adrift of leaders Arsenal. The visitors, meanwhile, have played a game more and are sitting four places behind the Cityzens with 36 points to their name.
Sunday’s game is crucial for both sides as Man City will be hoping to capitalise on Arsenal’s defeat to Everton on Saturday and close the gap to just two points. Meanwhile, Spurs are just four points adrift of the top-four and a victory against the reigning champions will narrow the gap with fourth-placed Newcastle to just a solitary point. Hence this article will look at some of the key battles that could determine the outcome of this encounter.
Charging up for game day! 🔋 pic.twitter.com/dYvL8wb35C
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 4, 2023
Kevin de Bruyne is arguably one of the best creative midfielders of the current generation and the Belgium international’s form is going to be key to Man City’s success. The 31-year-old’s ability to deliver high quality defence-splitting passes to the forwards could determine the outcome of the match. He has already recorded 11 Premier League assists this season from 19 outings. Meanwhile, Pierre Emerick Hojberg is likely to monitor the movements of the Belgian. The Denmark midfielder’s defensive awareness and ability to stabilize the Spurs engine room is also very impressive. The 27-year-old is likely to make life hard for De Bruyne on Sunday.
Kane is once again having a decent season, having scored 16 Premier League goals this season. The 29-year-old’s latest goal in the 1-0 win over Fulham on January 23, took his tally 266 for the North London club, level with Spurs’ all time record goal-scorer Jimmy Greaves. Apart from his goal-scoring prowess, the English footballer is capable of dropping behind and often allowing players like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski to excel around him. Man-to-man marking is unlikely to be effective against Kane, therefore Guardiola might opt for Zonal marking, and keeping things tight at the back. Man City defender Manuel Akanji is mature enough not to get drawn into the striker and rather stand his ground, which will make it more difficult for the spurs attackers.
Haaland is without doubt the most lethal striker in Europe right now. The Norwegian forward has already netted a whopping 25 Premier League goals this season and he has netted four goals in his last three outings, that includes a hat-trick against Wolves last week. It was the 22-year-old fourth treble of the season. He is big, strong and has got lots of pace, often making it almost impossible for the opposition defenders to handle. Spurs defender Eric Dier could be assigned with the duty to monitor Haaland. Dier is more of a defensive midfielder, who likes to play the ball from the back. He sits in front of the back-three and has a good range of passing. However, on Sunday, his primary objective would be to keep Haaland as quiet as possible. Dier cannot afford to give any kind of space to the Norwegian.
Son Heung-min hasn’t been at his usual best this season, having recorded just four goals and three assists in 19 Premier League games this campaign. However, the South Korean has scored an impressive seven goals in this fixture over the years, only behind Sergio Aguero (12) and Jermain Defoe (8). He has got exceptional pace and is not afraid to take on defenders. The 30-year-old mostly operates on the left channel and 18-year-old Man city right-back Rico Lewis could be up for his toughest test so far. Son is heading into the match on the back of a brace against Preston North End in the FA Cup last time out. .
