Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur, in what is sure to be an intriguing tie in the context of the Premier League title and top-four races.
In startling form, Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions come into the fixture unbeaten in 15 league fixtures. Conversely, Antonio Conte will be looking for a reaction from his out-of-form side, following a run of three successive league defeats, against Chelsea, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Rewinding back to the reverse fixture, Tottenham produced an excellent display to record a 1-0 opening-weekend victory courtesy of Son Heung-min.
Much reliance today will be on the rotations of City’s attacking players, with Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in some brilliant recent form, as all three scored in their 5-0 Champions League triumph against Sporting Lisbon.
MORE: Champions League round-of-16 power rankings
Spurs will be desperate to stop this from becoming a reality, with Son set to be an influential presence as well as one-time City target Harry Kane. New signings Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski will also be keen to make their quality known in the early stages of their Tottenham careers.
Check back below for live updates through the 90 minutes, plus pregame and postgame coverage.
Man City vs. Spurs live updates
12:11am: After the day’s earlier results, a win would be timely for Conte’s men. They’ll be hoping to keep pace with Arsenal and capitalise on West Ham’s draw. Liverpool’s win at home to Norwich means the gap between first and second is down to 6 points. Today’s hosts, who have only dropped 2 points since the start of November, will want to make sure they don’t let anything slip today.
11:46am: It’s Hugo Lloris’ 400th appearance for Spurs today, the North London side may need a big performance from their shot stopper if they’re going to reverse their recent run of poor form today. It will be interesting to see how Conte sets his team up for the challenge at hand. Kulusevski’s versatility means he has the freedom to pick between a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3.
11:38am: It’s two changes to the City side that dealt with Sporting Lisbon so easily. Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker get the nod today, with John Stones and Riyad Mahrez dropping to the bench.
11:37am: Eric Dier’s expected return to the starting XI will be a boost for Antonio Conte, while Lucas Moura will start the game on the bench. January signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur are both trusted from the start.
11:32am: The Spurs lineup is announced:
Your team to take on @ManCity! ? pic.twitter.com/E3QRbs7lHO
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 19, 2022
11:30am: The team news is in for the hosts:
Your City XI to take on Tottenham! ⬇️
XI | Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Sterling, De Bruyne, Foden
SUBS | Carson, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Delap, McAtee, Lavia#ManCity | @HaysTechnology pic.twitter.com/1PXbaD7bJv
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 19, 2022
11:00am: Antonio Conte looks to be delighted with the news that Eric Dier is back in contention for today’s match, claiming that the Englishman is an “important player” and “strong personality” for the North London outfit. No doubt, Tottenham could use his experience later on as they have leaked goals in the last few games.
10:45am: Despite Spurs’ recent poor form, City boss Guardiola seems well aware of the threat the opposition poses to his side today. Particularly, the 51-year-old was full of praise for Heung-min Son, Harry Kane, and Lucas Moura.
10:30am: Welcome to Sporting News’ live coverage as Manchester City’s assault on the Premier League title continues. All eyes will be on Harry Kane, travelling to Etihad Stadium for the first time since his potential summer transfer fell through.
All Times Eastern
Man City vs. Spurs betting odds
Odds via DraftKings
In terms of a first goalscorer, Raheem Sterling may be a wise investment due to his incredible knack of getting on the end of sweeping attacking moves. Coming in with 13 goals across all competitions in 2021/22, his goal contribution rate is up there with the best wide-men in England.
But the narrative might well dictate that Harry Kane comes back to haunt City, who chased him last summer. After a tough season, this evening’s big occasion in the North West may be the perfect opportunity for the striker to get back into the headlines.
Pick: Kane to be first goalscorer (+900)