I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M SO SPURSY
Guardiola is puzzled why City can’t win at Tottenham
PEP GUARDIOLA admitted he cannot explain Manchester City’s woeful record at Tottenham.
City have lost on all five of their visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and have failed to score in any of those defeats.
Former Spurs managers Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte have all condemned City to defeat in North London.
Guardiola, who takes his Treble winners to Spurs tonight in the fourth round of the FA Cup, conceded he has no idea why City have fared so badly there. “It happened at White Hart Lane, not just at this stadium,” said former Barcelona boss Guardiola.
“But they’re an exceptional side, ever since Mauricio was manager and under all the other managers, too.
“They also have exceptional players. Always you think ‘why are they not in the last stages in the Champions League?’
“They were there a few years ago but I’ve been in the Champions League for many years.”
Guardiola has won only twice at Spurs in his time as Manchester City manager, and on both occasions it was at Wembley, where the Londoners played for a short period.
City will once again be without star striker Erling Haaland, who will miss his 10th game in a row as he recovers from a fractured foot.
“It was a bone,” said Guardiola. “It was a little bit of a fracture of the bone and the bone is not a muscular issue that you can do a little bit of work on and come back.
“When you have this injury it’s a question of time, it’s six to eight weeks. He feels good and now he needs time to find his rhythm.
“We’ll give him three or four days and hopefully next week against Burnley he can play his first minutes.”
Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start at Spurs after continuing his comeback from injury with a match-winning cameo from the bench in a 3-2 win at Newcastle, scoring an equaliser and setting up the winner.
“Yes, he’s ready,” said Guardiola, whose squad took advantage of the mid-season break to train in the warm climate of Abu Dhabi for five days. “He was ready for Newcastle as well but we always have a process, which is the same with Erling when he comes back.”
Spurs, who drew 3-3 at the Etihad in December, have beaten City in north London in each of the last four Premier League seasons.
The last time City won at Spurs was in the 2018-19 season - at Wembley – but Tottenham beat Guardiola’s side 1-0 in the Champions League later in the campaign, soon after their move to their new stadium