Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

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Sunday 2nd October 2.15pm
Premier League
White Hart Lane​

Returning from Moscow with some Champions League points was important, so taking all three was exactly what we needed.
Our response to the opening game of the group, a 2-1 loss to Monaco at Wembley, has been superb.
Four consecutive wins and three clean sheets, despite injuries and squad rotation.
Now comes the biggest early challenge of the campaign, though.

City are the only side in the division to have started better than us and the only other unbeaten league side.
Since Guardiola's arrival they have looked extremely impressive and have won every game.
They look to have stepped up a level and they're dominating the ball, just as you'd expect one of his sides to.
Aguero is fit and firing, Sterling is fulfilling his potential and de Bruyne is in great form.

We've had very similar results against the only sides that we've both played.
City's opening game was against Sunderland at the Etihad and they scraped a late win, after Defoe had equalised Aguero's early penalty.
Their visit to Stoke was similarly tight until Nolito came off the bench to finish the home side off.
The 4-1 scoreline was said to be a bit flattering by a number of the match reports.

It's hard to argue with their record and their goalscoring streak, though.
Their main threat is definitely the Argentinian that leads the line, but plenty of others chip in.
They already have 11 goalscorers this season and I expect that list will grow and grow.
Iheanacho in particular looks to have a ton of potential and he should only get better.

This tie in the last campaign was full of goals, surprise and controversy.
City had started the season in similar form, winning their first five league games, before a loss to West Ham.
They were expected to bounce back against us and their recent record suggested that it could happen.
De Bruyne's early goal made it look likely. Replays showed that he was marginally offside.

City impressed until just before half-time, when they switched off and allowed Eric Dier to equalise.
His goal should also have been chalked off, as Walker was clearly offside in the buildup.
The sides went in level at half-time and both were aggrieved at the nature of the goals that they'd conceded.
Demichelis was lucky to avoid being sent off too, following a very late foul and some backchat.
He somehow avoided that fate in the second half too, despite another poor one.

Spurs reacted better after the break and took an early lead from a corner.
Willy Caballero went walkabout, allowing Alderweireld to head into an empty net.
More controversy followed the third goal, as an offside Harry Kane broke his early season barren spell.
Eriksen's free-kick struck the woodwork and he returned it as the keeper lay prone.
Erik Lamela put some gloss on the result, rounding Caballero after a great turn and run by N'Jie.

The return at the Etihad saw both sides within a point of each other and with title talk on people's lips.
Despite the dubious decisions in the first game, the same referee was appointed for the return.
Mark Clattenburg made the headlines again for this one, giving a controversial handball against Sterling.
Kane's resulting penalty opened the scoring before Iheanacho equalised.
Eriksen broke the offside trap to put us back in front and a late Lloris saved kept it that way.

We have no suspensions for this, but a number of injury issues.
Kane will miss out and it remains to be seen if Dier, Dembele and Rose have recovered in time.
City have Nolito suspended following his dopey red against Bournemouth.
De Bruyne and Kompany will also miss out, as they've picked up recent injuries.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Wanyama; Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen, Son; Janssen.
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Winks, N'Koudou, Lamela.
League form: DWDWWW.

City: Bravo; Sagna, Otamendi, Stones, Kolarov; Fernandinho; Sterling, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne; Aguero.
Subs: Cabellero, Zabaleta, Clichy, Fernando, Sane, Navas, Iheanacho.
League form: WWWWWW.

Referee: Andre Marriner.

Lots of changes in recent games and some mixed individual performances, I think it's fair to say.
Do you think that anyone's done enough to force their way into the team or keep it from those returning from injury?
Do we need to do anything different to deal with City? Does anyone need a rest?

 

<LDL>

PS : this was one "they played for both" you should have done by default

 

Paul Stewart

 

Five minutes. You're slipping.
I'm going to start posting these at about 3am!

 

Get In There !!!!!

LDL you took one hell of a beating there .

 

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Also...
Vedran Corluka
Bobby Mimms
Clive Allen
Michael Brown
Emmanuel Adebayor*

 

You would have got there first if you weren't faffing about putting on a suit and tie.

 

Does Ade get a * because 'play' is a very loose term for what he did by the end?

 

I checked at H/T in the Celtic v CIty game too

 

Michael Brown

How times have changed

 

Good game for us. City chasing all game and made to work hard, but they didn't lose so they won't have that bounce back mentality. We've got the bigger travel back though.

 

Didn't really learn much new. They're potent going forward, but very vulnerable at the back.

 

Let's go at them...no sideways ****.

 

Having just seen the highlights of Brenda's team putting 3 past them I will be very, very, very disappointed if we don't get at least 4.

Seriously though, they do still seem to have the same weakness. Extremely potent attack (although a bit less so without De Bruyne) but the defence really doesn't inspire any confidence at all when tested. We have to start quickly and get at them.

 

Dier pictured in training today

 

Reasons we will definitely, 100%, win:

• City have used up all their goals by scoring 33 in their first 11 games of the season.
• Son, however, has not run out of goals. He's just getting started.
  
• Since City's last win, they have not won a single game. Crisis.
• Brendan Rodgers figured them out. Just think what Pochettino will do to them.
• Fabian Delph is injured.

 

Given how poor City were at dealing with crosses last night, wouldn't it be wise to exploit this and have either N'Koudou or Trippier start?

 

^

Don't forget that they have an outstanding 'keeper in Bravo

 

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ing-for-man-city-and-fight-fire-with-fire-af/

So a team that outscored City 6-2 last year has a chance if it just copies a team that drew 3-3 with them. Pochettino would never have thought to try the high press.