Tottenham vs. Man City
Venue: Tottenham Stadium
Kick off:4:30PM
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host a mouthwatering contest this afternoon, as the champions Manchester City head to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Man City will be looking to defend the title that they reclaimed last term, while Spurs will be aiming to push closer to the top four in 2021-22, having finished a disappointing seventh in the top flight last season.
Now under the management of Nuno Espirito Santo, it will be fascinating to see what Tottenham achieve this season, and, as expected, talk of Harry Kane has dominated the build up to this contest; the England captain trained alongside his teammates on Friday, but Nuno has refused to reveal whether the striker will play against the side that are desperate to sign him in the current market.
Spurs have managed to boost their squad this summer with the arrivals of Bryan Gil, Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero, but it would be a monumental blow to the North London club if they were to lose Kane, who is thought to be valued by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in excess of £160 million.
Whether or not Kane plays this weekend, Tottenham have bigger fish to fry, with the team desperate to make a positive start to the season.
Last term, the club claimed seventh, but they were only five points off the top four, and Nuno will certainly be looking to move closer to the Champions League spots this season.
Not too much can be read into pre-season, but Spurs impressed in their most recent friendlies against Chelsea and Arsenal, drawing 2-2 with the Blues before beating the Gunners 1-0 on August 8, and there was plenty for the fans to be positive about in the two contests earlier this month.
Tottenham have a busy end to August, meanwhile, as they will take on Pacos Ferreira in a two-legged contest in the Europa Conference League, in addition to facing Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford in the league.
Man City’s 2021-22 campaign officially started last weekend, with the Citizens suffering a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City in the Community Shield, but it was an understrength side that took to the field.
Pep Guardiola’s side certainly had their problems during the 2020-21 campaign, but a record of 27 wins, five draws and six defeats from 38 matches saw them collect 86 points, which left them 12 points clear of second-place Manchester United, showing the gap that potential challengers need to make up this term.
Man City have broken the British transfer record this summer to sign Jack Grealish, while they are still said to be actively pursuing Kane, despite Guardiola refusing to discuss the England captain when questioned on the situation during Friday’s pre-match press conference.
The Citizens will believe that a positive result today would set them up nicely for back-to-back home matches against Norwich City and Arsenal to end the month, and it is vital that the likes of Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea manage to cling onto the champions in the early months of the season.
Man City were impressive in their last league clash with Tottenham, recording a 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, but Spurs won this particular fixture 2-0 last season, and it would be some story if Kane inspired the home side to an opening-weekend success here.
Tottenham possible XI: Lloris, Tanganga, Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon, Lo Celso, Hojbjerg, Lucas, Dele, Bergwijn, Son.
Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo, Gundogan, Rodri, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Torres, Grealish.