Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester City in a Premier League encounter on Sunday, following both teams' progress in the Champions League. While City aims to narrow the gap to league leaders Arsenal, Tottenham struggles in domestic play, sitting 14th and winless in their last five league games. The match highlights contrasting forms, with key injuries affecting both sides.
Both Tottenham and Manchester City advanced in the Champions League midweek, with Tottenham securing second place in their group to reach the last 16, and City earning a home victory over Galatasaray. The Premier League fixture offers City a chance to reduce their four-point deficit to Arsenal at the top, as stated by assistant coach Pep Ljinders. He emphasized focus on their own performance: “It’s about us. I’ve been in a few title races, it’s about focusing on the next game... You have to put pressure and chase, they have to feel us. It’s only possible by winning football matches, with this hopefully we can put on pressure.”
Tottenham's domestic season has been disappointing, with the team in 14th position and closer to the relegation zone than the top four. They remain winless in five league matches. Injuries plague the squad: Dominic Solanke is back in form, but Micky van de Ven faces a new concern, alongside absences of Richarlison, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski.
Manchester City may miss winger Jeremy Doku due to a calf injury sustained midweek, paving the way for Rayan Cherki to start. Rodri returns after a suspension in Europe.
Expected line-ups are:
Tottenham: Vicario, Spence, Romero, Danso, Udogie, Palhinha, Gray, Odobert, Gallagher, Simons, Solanke.
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Guehi, Khusanov, Nunes, O’Reilly, Rodri, Semenyo, Reijnders, Bernardo Silva, Cherki, Haaland.
Historical stats underscore Tottenham's challenges. Over the last two seasons, they accumulated fewer points than Wolves and West Ham, with 31 defeats—second only to Wolves. A loss would mark their eighth straight season with 10 or more defeats. Notably, Pep Guardiola has lost more league games to Tottenham than to any other opponent (eight). Under manager Thomas Frank, Spurs have the worst home points-per-game record in Premier League history at 0.82.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, streamable via Sky platforms or Now.
