It was all good a couple of weeks ago. Spurs looked like they were hitting their stride. Manager Antonio Conte was being lauded by all and sundry (yours truly included) as the mastermind that had finally gotten the Hotspur engine to kick over.
Back-to-back defeats to Southampton and Wolverhampton have brought all that good feeling to a screeching halt. And the turns don’t get any easier. Next up for Conte’s spluttering Spurs machine is the irresistible force of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte have both achieved massive success, with vastly differing styles. Cesc Fabregas played under both managers. He won the FA Cup and the league title with the Italian during Conte’s first run in English football, when he was at Chelsea. Fabregas also had a three-year stint at Barcelona under Guardiola that was littered with trophies too.
According to the Spaniard, their styles couldn’t have been more diametrically opposed.
He once said to CBS Sports –
“I had coaches like Pep [Guardiola] who had a lot of positioning games, but we had freedom inside of this. With Conte, the freedom was non-existent. He was telling me where I had to pass the ball.”
Curiously, the two gaffers have only met four times, splitting the victories right down the middle. Antonio Conte did the double in his title-winning 2016/17 campaign, with Guardiola returning serve the following season.
Manchester City vs Tottenham
When is it? Saturday 19th February, 5.30 PM
Where is it? Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Tottenham Players Competing in NFL Knowledge, Trivia: go here
Who’s in form? Manchester City (DWWWW) Tottenham (WLWLL)
What are the odds? Man City (-370) Tottenham (+1100) Draw (+475)
Premier League Podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts
Starting XI Predictions: Man City Tottenham
Team News: Man City Tottenham
Here is the injury and suspension news for Tottenham in this huge matchup.
We will start with Japhet Tanganga. The defender has missed the last three games for Spurs and faces an uphill battle to be fit for this one. The center back/ right-back is suffering from a knee injury and it would surprise me if he makes an appearance here.
Eric Dier faces a battle against time to be fit for this huge clash. The thigh injury he has been struggling with is coming good and he has a good chance to feature – most likely from the bench against City.
Finally, midfielder Oliver Skipp is still missing from Spurs training. The medical team at Tottenham still considers his groin issue to be pretty severe, so don’t bank on him being in the starting XI at the Etihad late Saturday afternoon.
All three guys have been regular starters for Tottenham and it will be interesting to see how the Spurs hierarchy deals with their absence yet again.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.