City have the pep, but Spurs no picnic
● When playing against a side as good as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Tottenham must take whatever edge they can get and it turns out a Monday kick-off could be the advantage they’re after.
While a tough day for most, Spurs have won seven and lost none of their last nine Premier League games played on Monday, with their last loss dating back to April 2012.
Tottenham also have home ground advantage and have developed a strong record at Wembley of late, having lost just two of their past 21 Premier League matches at the venue.
Unfortunately for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, that’s where the good news ends — with Guardiola’s side in stunning form. Unbeaten in 15 straight Premier League matches, conceding just six goals across that span, City are on a roll and haven’t shown any real signs of slowing this season.
Finest managers
City also boast a very strong record against Spurs having won 10 of their last 15 encounters and have taken a liking to playing in London — winning their past four games in the capital.
Guardiola and Pochettino are two of the finest managers in world football at the moment, but it’s the Spaniard with a very real edge over his Argentine counterpart. The City mastermind has lost just two of his past 13 matches against Pochettino and is closing in on a third straight win against him.
Though Spurs have shown impressive durability in the league lately, they will need to be at their most steadfast to deny the champions and league leaders a victory.
After a 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool early last month, Spurs have ground out four league wins in a row, while missing key players such as Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen. They often rode their luck in those victories, however, and last Saturday’s 1-0 win at West Ham United was in large part down to the excellence of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
City’s fortunes contrast starkly with their rivals Manchester United, who are already nine points adrift of City in 10th place and welcome an in-form Everton side to Old Trafford today.
United’s Romelu Lukaku will line up against his former club having not found the net in his last eight matches in all club competitions. In the week, Mourinho backed the Belgian to rediscover his scoring touch soon.
While former Chelsea boss Mourinho needs to turn around United’s season, the new man in charge at Stamford Bridge, Maurizio Sarri, could hardly have made a better start. If third-placed Chelsea avoid defeat at Burnley today, he will become the club’s first manager to go undefeated in his first 10 Premier League games.
At the same time, London rivals Arsenal will be going for their 11th win in a row in all competitions when they travel to a Crystal Palace side struggling to find the net. — goal.com and Reuters