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Two perennial winners meet at the Etihad Stadium this evening, as Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
While Conte became only the second man to beat Guardiola to a domestic title after leading Chelsea to Premier League success in 2017, his Tottenham side currently find themselves in a contrasting position of strength when compared to the Citizens.
Despite an initial upturn in form, which reignited hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification upon the Italian’s arrival, eighth-placed Spurs travel to the Etihad having suffered three consecutive Premier League defeats and sit seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United.
Their 2-0 home defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out acted as sufficient evidence to prove the Lilywhite’s are not yet a force that is capable of challenging the division’s elite on a consistent basis.
As well as on-field troubles, questions being asked of Conte’s immediate future following an ordinary January transfer window and frustrated comments made in his native media will concern Chairman Daniel Levy and Managing Director Fabio Paratici.
On the contrary, City have, once again, firmly established their position as one of Europe’s most dominant forces.
Nine points clear at the top of the Premier League and holding a 5-0 aggregate lead over Sporting Lisbon prior to the second-leg of their Round of 16 Champions League tie, you would expect, at the very least, one piece of silverware to be heading their way in May.
Guardiola has admirably masterminded this seasons’ success without a recognised striker, something that may have been ever-so different if those above the Spaniard had constructed a successful bid for Harry Kane.
The England captain did not feature in the reverse fixture on the opening day of the campaign amidst rumours he had returned from pre-season late but is certain to lead the line in a game that he may use to tempt the Blues into making another move for him this summer.
Team news
Unlike Kane, one man that did manage to seal a move was Jack Grealish. However, the £100 million attacker is unlikely to feature against Spurs according to his manager due to an ongoing shin problem that saw him miss victories against Norwich and Sporting.
Gabriel Jesus remains sidelined with a muscle injury, as does Cole Palmer who suffered a foot injury following his man-of-the-match display in the FA Cup against Swindon Town.
Conte will be buoyed by the return of Eric Dier who had featured in just one of Tottenham’s last eight matches in all competitions after picking up a thigh injury.
Although, academy graduates Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga will both miss the trip with respective groin and knee injuries. The 52-year-old also stated that one unnamed player will be unavailable due to COVID.
Pep Guardiola
In spite of their aforementioned recent results, Guardiola was keen to emphasise the dangers that Spurs present.
“The fact they lost three times makes it more difficult tomorrow. It’s difficult for top teams to lose four times in a row. They have a lot of weapons, we suffer with Son, Harry Kane, Moura, they have a lot of quality.”
The mutual respect between both figures is also evident with the Spaniard insisting that if a club hires Conte, they are effectively guaranteeing success.
“He showed in Juventus and changed many things since he arrived, at Milan, at Chelsea. If they club rely on him 100% they will have success.
I have incredible respect because when I watch his teams I learn something new.”
Antonio Conte
Equally, Conte lauded the ability of Guardiola and the overall quality of his opponent.
“We are talking about a fantastic team. I think, at this moment, they [Man City] are the best team in the world. They are almost perfect.
“They have worked together for many years, every season they try to improve, and the coach is the best coach in the world, that’s my opinion. These are great compliments, because they have built something really important for football in the world.”
Not only does Dier’s return to the team provide defensive reinforcements to Spurs, but it also allows Conte to select the Englishman and Argentinian defender Cristian Romero for only the second time since his appointment, something that pleases the Italian.
“It will be important to have together Cristian Romero and Eric Dier for only the second time since I’ve arrived in Tottenham.”
Head-to-head
The most famous meeting between the two teams in recent history undoubtedly came in the second-leg of the 2019 Champions League quarter-finals.
Going into the game one goal down on aggregate, City levelled the score within four minutes thanks to Raheem Sterling, prior to conceding two Heung-Min Son goals within three minutes.
Bernardo Silva pulled one back for the Citizens just a minute after Son’s second before Sterling scored again to leave the score 3-3 on aggregate.
For the first time throughout the tie, City went ahead thanks to a ruthless Sergio Aguero finish, though their lead would only last 14 minutes as Fernando Llorente controversially bundled the ball home from a corner with confirmation of the goal only given following a lengthy VAR check for handball.
There was still time left for one final act of VAR-themed drama as Sterling calmly converted Aguero’s cut-back to seal a memorable hat-trick and send every individual of a blue persuasion into ecstasy.
Though, once more, VAR broke Mancunian hearts and found Aguero to be in an offside position when receiving the ball meaning the goal was disallowed and Spurs were through to the semi-finals.
Apart from that night, however, Tottenham have struggled at the Etihad, only winning once in just under 12 years.
City, meanwhile, have lost just one of their last 11 home league games against Tottenham.
Should Conte’s side claim an unlikely victory, it will be the first time since the 1986-87 season that they have managed to do the double over the reigning champions.
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