Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City
One Premier League club is papering over the cracks with a decent run in Europe, the other is used to dominating and not quite clicking on occasion. The upshot of that is there is pressure on both Spurs and Manchester City as they prepare to clash in North London on Sunday teatime.
That pressure may be very different, and the expectations are largely different too. But the importance of securing Premier League 2026 highlights and valuable points will not be lost on either Thomas Frank or his counterpart, Pep Guardiola.
Talking Points
Both teams come into the contest off the back of midweek Champions League assignments.
It’s possibly a fine European group stage campaign, in which they finished fourth and secured automatic qualification for the last 16, that is keeping Frank in the Spurs job right now, amidst pressure from an unhappy bunch of supporters.
Before their midweek success against Eintracht Frankfurt, the North Londoners had been rocked by injuries to defender Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven.
While Porro, once of City, is out for four weeks with a hamstring injury, having come off at half-time in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Burnley, van de Ven’s problem appears less serious. Indeed, at the time of writing, under pressure Frank is hopeful it’s muscle rather than hamstring related and that he could return for the game on Sunday.
Conor Gallagher, Yves Bissouma, Mathys Tel, and Radu Dragusin – all ineligible in Europe – will also be back in the reckoning for selection.
I would imagine some Spurs fans would gladly accept a defeat for their team in this one if it means their arch rivals Arsenal, who top the table by four points from City, miss out on the title.
A defeat, though, would possibly mean the end for Frank, whose team is underachieving to the degree that the away fans angrily chanted at full-time at Turf Moor that he would soon be getting sacked.
While that level of discontent appears to make his situation unsustainable in the long term, they would do well to remember the astute Dane has only been at the club since the summer.
Of course, while the supporters are understandably frustrated, they will also realise that the Dane took over a squad which finished in 17th place – directly above the relegation zone – in the Premier League last term.
For City, there is no such unrest as they are fairly close to the summit and edged into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night with a 2-0 home win over Galatasaray.
That came at a cost, though, as Jeremy Doku, who set up both goals on the night, sustained a calf injury that will rule him out this weekend as he joins defenders Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and John Stones on the sidelines, along with Mateo Kovacic and Savinho.
On a brighter note, Guardiola’s two January signings, Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi – players this SBOTOP observer believes will prove City’s best recruits for a fair few years – are back again after being unavailable in Europe.
History
With 69 City victories and 69 Spurs successes, this must be the closest match-up between any of the top sides in English football history. There have also been 37 draws.
City actually won this corresponding fixture last term, with the only goal coming from Erling Haaland after just 12 minutes.
Spurs have won three of the last four meetings, however, including earlier this season when the first half continued Frank’s fine start to his Tottenham tenure.
Last season, Spurs defeated a largely second-string City in the last 16 of the League Cup, courtesy of first-half goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr.
It was in Manchester, though, where they secured one of the stand-out results of the campaign – a 4-0 thrashing of the hosts thanks to a James Maddison brace, one from Porro and another from Johnson.
January 1909 was their first ever game, an FA Cup first round tie at Hyde Road in Manchester, won 4-3 by the visitors.
For the record, the Spurs scorers that day were William Minter (two), Thomas Morris (penalty), and Robert Steel.
Arguably the best game I have reported on in recent years involved these clubs in 2019 in the Champions League quarter-finals – an epic encounter with which words struggled to do justice, so barely credible were the events which unfolded.
Betting Tip
The Premier League 2026 betting odds all back City, including 1X2 @ 1.70 and Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.26, compared to Spurs 1X2 @ 4.13 and Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 2.25.
Don’t ask me why, though, but I see this Spurs side as actually getting something this weekend.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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