Manchester City vs Tottenham Preview, Possible Line Ups as Conte Locks Horns with Guardiola

• Manchester City have not lost a league game since October 2021, and have gone on an impressive run of form
• Tottenham edged Pep Guardiola’s side on August 15 2021, when Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge of the North London club
• City are without a recognized striker, while Tottenham have been boosted with the return of Eric Dier
• Ahead of the clash, Spurs are looking to bounce back from a poor run of results, while the Citizens can potentially maintain their nine-point lead with a win

Manchester City will be looking to strengthen their grip on fourth place when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday, February 19.

City are currently nine points clear at the top of the table, with Liverpool being the only team with an outside chance of catching up to Pep Guardiola’s men.

On paper, it looks like the Citizens are clear favourites to win this one for several reasons.

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After a slow start to the season, Man City have gone on a frightening run of form, and have not lost a single league game since October 2021, winning 14 out of their 15 fixtures since.

On the other hand, Tottenham have been impressive since Antonio Conte took charge of the club, but have hit a rough patch in recent weeks.

The North London club have lost three league games on the bounce to Chelsea, Southampton and more recently Wolverhampton Wanderers, and based on that run of form alone, a positive result against Manchester City looks highly unlikely.

A slight confidence-booster for the Lily Whites is the fact that they managed to edge Man City 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in August.

Team news (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola will have to do without the club’s record signing Jack Grealish, who is out with a shin injury.

Gabriel Jesus and Cole Palmer are two other notable absentees, while Cole Palmer will also miss the clash.

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However, Kyle Walker is set to return to the team, after missing the midweek game through suspension.

In defence, Guardiola is likely to go with a Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte partnership, while Joao Cancelo will operate with Walker in the full-back positions.

Rodri will likely occupy the holding midfield position, and will likely be assisted by the creativity of Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva.

In the absence of a recognized striker, City will likely play with a false-9, and Phil Foden suits that role perfectly, with Raheem Sterling and top scorer Riyad Mahrez supporting him on the flanks.

Here is Manchester City’s possible lineup:

Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Team News (Tottenham)

Tottenham’s biggest news in terms of their squad is the return of Eric Dier and Steven Bergwijn, who are back and available for selection.

However, academy graduates Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are both missing with injuries, while Sergio Reguilon is likely to sit out the game as he missed training in a suspected COVID-19 case.

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Conte will likely resort to his traditional 3-4-3 formation which is perfect to try and absorb the pressure from Manchester City.

Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon are the obvious options for wingbacks, especially if Regiuillon is unavailable; while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will have the difficult task to match Kevin de Bruyne in midfield.

In attack, Lucas Moura and Son Heung Min are likely to feature on the flanks, while Harry Kane will provide the North London club’s biggest goal threat.

Here is Tottenham’s possible line up:

Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lucas, Kane, Son

“Someone wants to create a problem”

Meanwhile, Conte slammed sections of media on Friday for allegedly misconstruing his statement on Tottenham’s transfer policy a day earlier.

As reported by Sports Brief, Conte went on record to admit that his side had become ‘weaker’ after allowing four players to leave in the January transfer window.

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But the Italian clarified his sentiments, saying he meant his side was weaker because of the number of players who left, not the quality of the squad.