WTW Man City vs Tottenham - January 19th

Manchester City vs Tottenham: Both sides looking to bounce back - January 19th

January 18, 2023 By Michelle Bonsu

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Manchester City, Tottenham, English Premier League

Both Manchester City and Tottenham will be keen on getting back to winning ways when they square off on Thursday, January 19th.

A mouthwatering clash is surely on the cards as two of England's biggest sides go head to head on Thursday. Both Manchester City and Tottenham come into this contest having suffered defeats over the weekend, and as such, both sides will be eager to get back to winning ways quickly. For Pep Guardiola's squad, a 2-1 reversal to Manchester United in an entertaining Manchester Derby sees them eight points behind Arsenal, who are still managing to hang on to top spot in the table.

While it might appear that it could be a bridge to far for the reigning champions to dislodge the current leaders, there is still plenty of football to be played between now and the end of the season, meaning that the title race could take a major twist at any point in time. City's shock loss to Southampton in the EFL Cup means that the Cityzens have one less competition to feature in, but it means that they will be really under pressure to get things back on track to avoid making a two game losing streak into three.

The defeat to the Red Devils also means that City now will be feeling the pressure from the likes of Manchester United and in fact, City will slip to third spot before their upcoming match with a victory for Erik ten Hag's side over Crystal Palace. Worryingly, City have failed to win their last two league games at the Etihad, failing to beat both Brentford and Everton recently, which is an unpleasant downturn in results after winning 11 in a row at the same ground.

Meanwhile, Tottenham sit in fifth place, having lost two of their last three games. That includes a very disappointing 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in last weekend's North London Derby that has effectively ruled out Antonio Conte's hopes of seeing his team win the Premier League. Overall, Spurs have won just three of their last nine games, albeit they do have a solid track record against upcoming opponents Manchester City.

Indeed, having beaten them both home and away last term, Conte could see his team to become the first to beat a Guardiola-managed squad three times in a row. Overall, Spurs have won four of their last five Premier League ties against City, but containing the likes of Erling Haaland - who will be looking to get his goal-scoring back on track after a slight dip - will be much easier said than done.

Team news: Manchester City vs Tottenham

Manchester City: Both Ruben Dias and John Stones missed out on the Manchester Derby last weekend, but both defenders could make a return for this upcoming game. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne is expected to feature despite missing training recently due to personal reasons. Aymeric Laporte has now recovered from injury and will be eager to get back into the starting XI after a long absence.

Tottenham: Rodrigo Bentancur could return after missing out over the weekend during the North London Derby. However, Lucas Moura is still out with a tendon injury.

Match facts: Manchester City vs Tottenham

Manchester City have lost their last four Premier League meetings against Tottenham (W1)
Meanwhile, Spurs beat City both home and away last season and should they win on Thursday, they will become the first team to beat a Pep Guardiola-managed side three times in a row
Guardiola has lost six of his 15 meetings with Tottenham in all competitions (W7 D2)...
...in addition, he has lost three of his five meetings with Tottenham's Antonio Conte in all competitions (W2)
Harry Kane is two goals away from becoming the third player in Premier League history to score 200 Premier League goals