BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton, taking on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Claudio Castagnoli, has predicted the result of the clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Ahead of this weekend’s games, Sutton feels Pep Guardiola’s side will get the better of Spurs.
City come into this clash comfortably placed second in the table. Spurs, on the other hand, sit fifth in the table, three points off the defending champions. Whilst that does not make for bad reading, it is the recent context that puts Tottenham under a bit of pressure.
Spurs have now lost three games on the bounce after being unbeaten in the league for 10 games. Whilst the Chelsea loss was marred by red cards, 2-1 losses against Wolves and Aston Villa saw them tumble down to fifth in the table.
This highly anticipated game will see two managers known for their desire to play an attacking brand of football pit their wits against each other.
The tacticians have faced off once before back in 2019 when Manchester City took on Yokohama F. Marinos which was managed by Postecoglou back then. The game ended 3-1 in the English side’s favour.
Chris Sutton expects an open game and a City win
Speaking to the BBC, Chris Sutton felt that the game between Tottenham and City would be open and there could be a few goals.
He said: “Not many teams go toe to toe with City at Etihad Stadium, so it is going to be very interesting to see what sort of line-up Spurs go with. Full-backs Ben Davies and Emerson Royal were the centre-back pairing against Villa, with Eric Dier left on the bench.
“Whoever gets the nod this time will have to be the best players in the team, because they get left exposed so much. I am expecting another really open game and Tottenham will create chances, like they did last weekend against Villa. If they had taken them, they would have been out of sight by half-time.
“City will get loads of opportunities too, though – and they are just ruthless. That’s why I’m saying there are going to be a few goals, it’s just that Pep Guardiola’s side will get most of them.”
Sutton’s prediction: 4-2 Manchester City
Claudio’s prediction: 3-1 Manchester City
Spurs Web Opinion
The odds are firmly stacked against Spurs ahead of the Manchester City clash. However, it is the wounded tiger which is usually very dangerous.
Ange Postecoglou is a winner, and he will be very disappointed about registering three losses on a trot. He has had a week to prepare with his team whilst City were busy playing in Europe. The additional rest could perhaps give us an edge in what is expected to be a very open, fast-paced game.
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