Spurs now stand in City’s way
After suffering three defeats in a week, including a Champions League exit, leaders Manchester City get back to business in the Premier League on Saturday but face another tough test at fourthplaced Tottenham Hotspur.
City could have wrapped up the title with a win at home to Manchester United last Saturday but threw away a two-goal lead to suffer their first home loss of the campaign, falling 3-2 to Jose Mourinho’s side.
That game was sandwiched between the two legs of their Champions League quarterfinal against Liverpool in which City suffered a 3-0 loss at Anfield and then a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad.
City remain 13 points clear with six games remaining and can clinch the title with a win over Spurs at Wembley combined with a United defeat at home to bottom club West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Spurs away is never an easy task, given Mauricio Pochettino’s side have lost just once at home this season and the match comes at a time when City’s confidence could have been drained by an unusually negative week for the side of Pep Guardiola.
Spurs have their eye on a strong finish to the campaign as they target second place. The London club trail United by four points after picking up six consecutive wins in an unbeaten run of 14 games.
“We have the quality, the right spirit and the experience in the Premier League,” said captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
“We show character and ambition because there is still second place to play for and we will try our best to finish as high as we can in the table.”
United, on a high after their derby win, will expect to pick up three more points at Old Trafford against a West Brom side that look doomed for the drop.
Seventh-placed Burnley and Leicester, eighth, clash at Turf Moor on Saturday in a game that could go a long way to determining who gets the final Europa League place.
Unless Southampton win the FA Cup, the seventh-placed side will earn qualification for Europe as the other three potential Cup winners — United, Spurs and Chelsea — should already have booked their places in continental competition.
Victory for Burnley would move them nine points clear of Leicester and bring them one step closer to a return to European action.