Manchester City face Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday afternoon in what should be an exciting early-season Premier League clash.
City got off to a great start last weekend with a 4-0 win over Wolves. Pep Guardiola said his team looked fresh, and City will be hoping to carry that energy into this match. They’ve won their first home game of the season four years in a row and have also won five league games in a row at the Etihad.
Tottenham also started well under their new manager Thomas Frank. After pushing PSG close in the UEFA Super Cup, they beat Burnley 3-0 in their league opener. Spurs have scored five goals in two matches, but their defence may be tested more here. Frank might change his team’s setup again, just like he did against PSG, to try and stop City’s attack.
This fixture usually brings goals. The last 15 times these sides met at the Etihad, there were 67 goals scored in total, that’s an average of over four per game. Spurs actually won 4-0 in this fixture last season. City have only won one of their last four home games against Tottenham.
Manchester City have been strong at home early in the season, winning their last four first home matches by a total of 14-1. Guardiola has only lost more games against Liverpool than he has against Spurs. Meanwhile, Tottenham haven’t won any of their last six away league matches.
City striker Erling Haaland has scored four goals in six games against Tottenham, though only one came at home. Richarlison, who scored twice against Burnley last week, has only won one of his 15 matches against City.
City may be without Ederson and Savinho due to ongoing transfer talks. Phil Foden, Gvardiol, and Rodri missed the last match, but some may return. Tottenham are still missing Maddison and have a few other injury concerns but no new issues.
With so many goals in recent meetings between these two, this match could be another high-scoring affair.
