Tottenham vs Manchester City Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Tottenham:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner; Richarlison
Manchester City:
Ortega; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Alvarez
Tottenham Hotspur welcome Manchester City in a derby match of the FA Cup fourth round. The Lilywhites have eliminated Burnley thanks to a narrow 1:0 win in the third round. Right-back Pedro Porro scored the winner in the second-half. According to some pundits, the FA Cup is Tottenham's best hope of winning a piece of silverware, first in 16 years. Of course, the Spurs are still close to the top of the Premier League and the title is not completely out of their hands. Ange Postecoglou is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfied with the transformation of their team. But the Australian manager has some issues ahead of this game. Mali and Senegal have both advanced to the knock-out stage, meaning Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma remain absent, as well as South Korea skipper Son Heung-min. Dane Scarlett, Alejo Veliz, Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies remain out injured, but James Maddison and Manor Solomon could be part of the squad after recovering from ankle and knee injury respectively. The recovery of Dejan Kulusevski and Ryan Sessegnon is another good news for Postecoglou. Micky van de Ven was forced off the field at Old Trafford, but the problem was nothing more than cramp and he is ready to start.
Manchester City have eliminated Huddersfield Town in the third round. It was clear who are the favorites and they did the job in impressive way, winning 5:0. The overall form is also good, they are in series of six victories across all competitions. Guardiola's men managed to beat Urawa and Fluminense on international scene, as well as Everton, Sheffield United, Hudersfiled Town and Newcastle United domestically. The last victory at St James Park was impressive as they were one-goal down in the second half. Pep made some changes and Kevin De Bruyne scored a fantastic goal that changed the game. Young Oscar Bobb then also found the back of the net and secured an extremely important victory. The Citizens still have a five-point gap to make up to leaders Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand. But Guardiola has some injury issues too. First-choice goalkeeper Ederson is injured after a collision with Newcastle's Sean Longstaff, but Stefan Ortega was expected to start in the cup anyway. Erling Haaland remain sidelined after suffering a small setback in his rehabilitation. John Stones and Manuel Akanji are both rated as doubtful. According to the last news, the duo is close to full fitness.
Tottenham vs Manchester City Predicction:
I expect a high scoring game in London. Like the previous one played in December that finished with a 3:3 draw. Maybe is too much to expect six goals, but at least four could be scored. The key reason for my pick is Tottenham manager Postecoglou and his style. He is asking the possession from his players and it's not easy when Manchester City are opponents. Guardiola is well known for his "tiki-taka" way of playing. It is clear there will be lot of goal-chances for both teams. Once the ball enter the opponents' half of the pitch, it will be a big opportunity. Both managers don't like long balls and insisted on transition. Usually that means possible mistakes in the first third and this kind of mistakes are "very expensive".
Tottenham vs Manchester City Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 2.24 with
Pinnacle