Manchester City return to Premier League action as they take on Tottenham on Saturday. City got through to the next round of the FA cup as they overcame Swansea City three goals to one. The win set a new English club record, for consecutive wins, across all competitions, surpassing the 14 victories chalked by Preston (from 1892) and Arsenal (ending in 1987).
Now it’s on for #16, and due to the availability of some of players, they will have to rethink their approach for the weekend’s league game.
Tottenham Hotspur at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sat, Feb 13, 5:30pm GMT, City of Manchester Stadium
Team News: Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur
Starting XI Predictions: Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur
PL Form Guide: Manchester City WWWWW Tottenham Hotspur WLLLW
PL Position: Manchester City 1st, 50 points Tottenham Hotspur 8th, 36 points
Given how much ground they have gained in the race for the Premier League title, the Manchester side will want to keep the momentum going. It will not be easy against a team that will be looking to bounce back after exiting the FA Cup.
There are likely to be a few changes to the team so that they can be even stronger when taking on Spurs. One change that will surely happen is the return of Ederson to the starting eleven in place of Zack Steffen.
City will be in their usual 4-3-3 formation that will see John Stones come back into the centre of defence. There is some doubt as to whether Ruben Dias will be able to play. This should open the door for Aymeric Laporte to make another appearance.
Kyle Walker opened the scoring on Wednesday and will start as the right back once again. On the left, it will be Joao Cancelo instead of Benjamin Mendy.
In midfield, there is a question mark over the fitness of Rodri after he had to be substituted against Swansea. But there is a good chance that he will be fit and if so, the Spaniard will be at the base of the midfield three.
On either side of him, it will be Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan. Both these players have proven to be a crucial component in the win streak that City are on at the moment.
Up front, Manchester City are likely to return to the combination that worked so well for them at Anfield. It was Phil Foden in the centre with Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez on the wings that helped beat Liverpool. That trio will once again be looking to impose themselves on the game and help City win.
If they can play as well as they did last week against Liverpool, Guardiola should be getting all three points with ease.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against Tottenham (4-3-3):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling