Premier League: Are Spurs Ready Yet?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

The SBOBET Premier League Monday night fixture will be well worth waiting for, as the reigning champions visit one of the pretenders to their throne.

It’s Spurs against Manchester City at Wembley and a chance for football fans worldwide to see some of the best players on the planet. Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne up against Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier and Christian Eriksen; these are the games we love to see.

If Spurs have any aspirations to win the Premier League any time soon, then it’s Manchester City they must overcome. Mauricio Pochettino has said he isn’t concerned about winning silverware, but some of the Spurs faithful are; they are worried that his perceived obsession with top-four finishes is turning him into Arsene Wenger!

The big Premier League 2018 news on Saturday was that Liverpool had annihilated Cardiff City 4-1 to go top of the table, three points ahead of City, so the Sky Blues need a win.

Sergio Aguero has scored nine against Spurs and aims to extend that feat in their upcoming Premier League clash — Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring Manchester City’s first goal vs Burnley

Talking Points

Hugo Lloris put in a world-class performance away to West Ham last week as Spurs picked up a narrow 0-1 victory. But the skipper was sent off in the midweek Champions League fixture away to PSV. He’ll need to be at his very best on Monday if he is to lead his team to anything other than defeat.

While Spurs str keeping pace in the league, they are struggling in Europe. The 2-2 draw with PSV has left them with an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages, five points behind second-placed Inter in Group B with Barcelona almost already through.

The encouraging aspect of Spurs’ midweek exploits was the form of Lucas Moura and Harry Kane as both strikers got on the score sheet. But even more significant is the return of Christian Eriksen, the creative muscle in Pochettino’s team.

Manchester City are firm favourites to retain their league title, but they are not untouchable and know they are in a real fight with Liverpool for the top spot.

The Sky Blues were found wanting in their last clash with a title rival when Riyad Mahrez blasted a penalty into orbit in a goalless draw with Jurgen Klopp’s side.

But after a surprise defeat at the start of this season’s Champions League campaign, the Sky Blues have recovered well and went top of their group with an impressive 0-3 win away to Shakhtar Donetsk. Pep Guardiola doesn’t have too many injury worries. Long-term absentee Kevin de Bruyne made an appearance as the Sky Blues hammered Burnley 5-0 last week, though midfielder Ilkay Gundogan remains sidelined.

History

Both teams come into this game in good form. City won six and drawn one of the last seven in all competitions, while Spurs have won five drawn one and lost one, that defeat coming in the Champions League to Barcelona.

City had two convincing wins over Spurs last season: the first was 4-1 at the Etihad, and a 1-3 win at Wembley Stadium last April placed the Premier League in their grasp. Guardiola’s men produced a superb performance with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, while Eriksen was on target for Spurs.

Head-to-head results in the Premier League era are very much in Spurs’ favour, with 23 wins to 15 and seven draws. But take every game these famous old teams have played and they can’t be separated. They have met 155 times in competitive matches and each has won 60, with 35 draws.

Lloris will be looking out for Sterling, who has scored three goals in his last two matches against Spurs, and Sergio Aguero, who has scored nine against the Whites, including four in one game back in 2014.

Betting Tip

	Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City	City ahead at halftime @ 2.41
	October 30, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Liverpool have taken City’s place at the top of the table. The Sky Blue half of Manchester knows that Klopp’s team poses the biggest threat, though Spurs could overtake Guardiola’s champions with a win on Monday.

But the Spurs vs Manchester City odds tell the real story. Spurs available at a price of 4.50, at home in the Premier League, reveals just how good Manchester City is. The Champions are at 1.74 to win with the draw at 3.70. I think City will dominate the ball, and they have the skill and guile to find gaps where none others can. Spurs will do well to hang on until the break, but if they do, then the second half could be explosive with both teams going for the win.