The Saturday lunchtime kick-off sees Tottenham return to the Eithad for the first time since their 6-0 demolition by Manchester City last year.
The current champions of England have started well, but already sit 5 points behind an imperious looking Chelsea side. Manchester City have history of coming from behind in their two title wins, so will have no worries despite facing their toughest opponents yet since the fortunes changed for the blue side of Manchester. A trip to Russia in midweek and 8 matches in 4 weeks may force Pellegrini to rotate the squad, but their strong moves in this summer’s transfer window mean there will be a good team on the pitch no matter what.
Tottenham have had an indifferent start to the season, but with the club getting used to a new manager yet again in Poch and his coaching staff it seems likely to be a season of transition for the North London club. After winning their first two matches of the season, they have only won once in 5 games since against Southampton. Despite this though, Spurs currently sit in 6th place on 11 points and if that is improved come Sunday evening then it will be a successful weekend for them.
Key Players
David Silva
Now in his 5th season as a Manchester City player, David Silva is one of the most important buys of their new era at the top of English football. Overall this season, Silva has created 19 chances and assisted 2 goals as well as scoring one himself.
Against Aston Villa, the Spanish international was a standout performer despite not scoring or assisting a goal. Always looking for the ball to influence the play in the final third, Siva made 100 touches over the course of the match – only Yaya Toure had more with 150 – and his movement and guile on the ball allowed team mates to exploit the spaces.
Etienne Capoue
After a difficult first season at Spurs, Capoue has seen his second start in contrasting fashion having started all 7 Premier League matches and impressing in most.
On a defensive front, which will be his main priority on Saturday, Capoue has made an average 3 tackles and 3.3 interceptions per match alongside 3 clearances per match – 21 tackles and clearances overall, plus 23 interceptions. The Frenchman’s passing is also a strong area of his game, important for the role of collecting the ball from defence he plays, with a passing accuracy of 88.8% and making an average of 73 passes per match.
Betting Tip
Sergio Aguero has scored 5 goals in 7 games this season and is 2.25 to score anytime against Tottenham with Tailorbet here http://goo.gl/OlxUOT.
Team News
City have no new injury concerns from returning international players, but Samir Nasri and Fernandinho are both out for this weekend.
Arguably one of Tottenham’s best player this season is facing a race to fit for Saturday’s match after suffering a hip injury on international duty. Both right backs Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton are definitely ruled though with groin and ankle injuries respectively.
Prediction
Tottenham still seem to be in a stage of change despite a good draw away to Arsenal and win against Southampton; while Manchester City’s home record in recent years shows their strength at home. Don’t expect a similar result to last season, but City will come out on top.
