Date: Sunday, 24th November Venue: Eithad Stadium Kick-Off: 13:30 Which under pressure manager will come out on top at the Eithad?
Team News
Costel Pantilimon again looks set to start ahead to No. 1 Joe Hart. Manchester City have no new fresh injury concerns - although captain Vincent Kompany and attackers David Silva plus Stevan Jovetic remain sidelined. Christian Eriksen picked up a sprained ankle in the international meet-up between Demark and Norway and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Vlad Chiriches is a doubt after breaking his nose in the fixture against Newcastle a fortnight ago. Danny Rose meanwhile is a confirmed absentee with a toe problem. Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor could be handed a shock start as Andre Villas-Boas attempts to solves Tottenham's goal-scoring crisis.
Key Facts
Head-to-Head The last meeting between the teams was at White Hart Lane, where Gareth Bale inspired a Spurs comeback for a 3-1 victory.
Manchester City Prior to this weekend Sergio Aguero is the league's joint top-scorer with 8 goals (Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez have also scored 8*). City have the best goal-difference this season with +16. Manchester City have won every home game this season, including a 4-1 truimph over champions and local-rivals , scoring 20 goals.
Tottenham Hotspur Andros Townsend has attempted 93 dribbles this season - more than any other Premiership player so far this season. Tottenham have the most shots on target of any team this season at 73 - yet have only scored 9 goals - the third lowest in the league this season. The only time Spurs have conceeded an away goal was at the home of their local rivals Arsenal - where Olivier Giroud slotted home for a 1-0 Arsenal win.
Match Preview
Both managers have recentley come under criticism this season - aguruably unfair critcism, espically in the case of Andre Villas-Boas, in my view. With both teams spending big in the summer, expections of the two sets of fans were high - both teams looking to challenge for the title. However it hasn't gone to plan - Manuel Pellegrini's team have an flawless home record, but their away record has been their achilles-heel, picking up only 4 points on the road - and the reason why they currently occupy 8th place. Andre Villas-Boas on the otherhand has a very different problem - which is getting his team to score goals - with Spurs only scoring 9 this season. And their defeat to Newcastle really testified that fact - Spurs failing to find the net depite having 31 attempts on goal. This has even prompted rumors of a return for out-of-favour stiker Emmanuel Adebayor in a desprate attempt from Villas-Boas to get his team finding the net. However, I would expect a high-scoring game come Sunday - a weak Man City defense could be the perfect opportunity for Spurs to start finding the net - although I still think a home win is on the cards, when you bring Sergio Aguero and Alvardo Negredo into the equation, combined with City's home record.
Recent Form
Manchester City - LWWLWLTottenham Hotspur - DLWWDL
Likely Line-Ups
Manchester City (4231): Pantilimon: Zabaleta, Demichelis, Nastasic , Clichy: Yaya Toure, Fernandinho: Jesus Navas, Aguero, Nasri: Negredo
Tottenham Hotspur (433): Lloris: Walker, Dawson, Kaboul, Vertonghen: Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele: Townsend, Soldado, Sigurdsson
Prediction: 3-2 source - bbc football