Clash of the EPL’s unbeaten
Tottenham could strike down a City side still shaken by shock Celtic draw
THE PREMIER League’s only remaining unbeaten records are on the line on Sunday when Tottenham Hotspur will hope to follow Celtic and inflict another dent in Manchester City’s superb start to the campaign.
The City juggernaut had crushed all before them, winning every competitive game this season, until they were held to a surprise 3-3 draw with Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday.
That result, and the way the Scottish side exposed chinks in City’s defensive armour, will have given a fillip to Tottenham side, fresh from a crucial Champions League win in Moscow, before England’s top two clash at White Hart Lane.
Pep Guardiola’s impressive start at the Etihad Stadium has made City many people’s favourites for the title, and Spurs will need all the grit they showed in their victory over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday to avoid losing further ground to their opponents.
Both sides will be without key players for Sunday’s clash.
Harry Kane, Spurs top scorer for the past two seasons, is expected to be out for at least another month after suffering ankle ligament damage against Sunderland on September 18 – although Son Heung-min’s stunning form has ensured they have not missed him as much as fans feared.
The South Korean scored his fifth goal in five games in Spurs’ 1-0 win in Moscow.
“He is on fire,” Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino told reporters. “To keep this form is very important for us.”
City, four points clear of their opponents and out to avenge their double defeat to Spurs in the league last season, will also be without several important players, including Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne, who were injured in last Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League win over Swansea City.
Arsenal, who are third, and Liverpool (fourth) will both expect to maintain their challenges away to struggling sides.
Arsene Wenger’s men will be bidding for their fifth league win in a row on Sunday at newly promoted Burnley, who won for only the second time this season on Monday when they beat Watford.
Arsenal, just a point behind Spurs, will hope top scorer Alexis Sanchez continues his impressive record against Burnley, having scored three goals and made one in his three appearances against them.
Swansea City beat Liverpool 3-1 at home last season, but with Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin under pressure following their poor start to the campaign and Liverpool revitalised under Juergen Klopp, they will be hard-pushed to match that in the corresponding fixture on Saturday.
Fifth-placed Everton could go second for at least 24 hours if they beat Crystal Palace at home tonight.
Manchester United – with captain Wayne Rooney by no means certain of a recall – will be looking to extend their impressive home record against struggling Stoke City on Sunday, having won their last eight league games against Mark Hughes’s side at Old Trafford.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says his team are one win away from getting their season back on track. The east London club, 18th in the standings, take on Middlesbrough tomorrow.
“One good result can change the whole season. We cannot think it is just going to happen. We need to earn it. I am concerned and it has been a bad start,” Bilic said
“With one win we can build everything back with a win over Middlesbrough.” FACT: goals win you games.
And on paper, they shouldn’t be in short supply where Mamelodi Sundowns are concerned. Expectations will probably be high for both the Brazillians and Bidvest Wits to send the net bulging tomorrow afternoon in the MTN8 final at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. But who should assume the responsibility? The strikers of course.
Sundowns options Khama Billiat, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Yannick Zakri
With Colombian hitman Leonardo Castro some distance from a full recovery after picking up an ankle injury several weeks ago, coach Pitso Mosimane has found the going tough on the domestic front. As previously mentioned in our midfielders analysis, the Brazilians have been able to rely on Percy Tau and Anthony Laffor to chip in with crucial goals, but that has been in their CAF Champions League pursuit. Sundowns have only managed four goals in their four games in all South African competitions, quite below par for a team able to score from anywhere on the pitch as they clinched the league last season.
But this shouldn’t suggest Mosimane will not be able to figure out a way to get his men to translate their continental matches form into the MTN8 final. And he has the players to do it in Billiat, Vilakazi and even new boy Zakri, who was signed from ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast before the transfer window shut last month. Grade: 8/10
Wits options Eleazar Rodgers, Gabadinho Mhango, Cuthbert Malajila
The Clever Boys also have one of their more prolific goal scorers from last season still out nursing an injury in James Keene. But coach Gavin Hunt made sure he wouldn’t miss him too much having recruited a completely new front line during the off-season to counter Keene’s absence as well as that of exciting winger-cumstriker, Phakamani Mahlambi. Wits, who do not yet have to juggle the domestic league and continental commitments, have played six matches in all competitions and managed nine goals. Rodgers, Mhango and Malajila have all opened their accounts and are growing in confidence ahead of the final.
Sundowns haven’t really been leaking goals, meaning these Wits strikers will have to double their efforts to get in behind them. Rodgers and Mhango are almost certain to start, with Malajila being a very decent alternative later in the match against his former club. But Hunt might also decide to pick all three and go all out in an attempt to finally bring silverware to the club for the first time in his four years at the helm. Whichever way he goes, Hunt has a solid team backed by gifted midfielders to give the strikers good service. Grade: 8/10 @superjourno