Not entirely (remotely) relevant to this game, but this is surely the VAR moment of the day/week/year/whatever:
So by my calculations Vertonghen, Lamela and Sessegnon all drop out of the side that beat Norwich in Tottenham’s last league game, with Tanganga, Sanchez and Bergwijn coming in. City bring Gundogan and Aguero in and leave Jesus and Laporte out.
The teams!
Team news is in, and this is the shape of it:
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Tanganga, Winks, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, Alli, Son, Lucas Moura. Subs: Vertonghen, Lamela, Dier, Sessegnon, Gazzaniga, Ndombele, Fernandes.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling. Subs: Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Silva, Joao Cancelo, Foden, Garcia.
Referee: Mike Dean.
Hello world!
Ding ding ding! It’s Guardiola v Mourinho, round 23! “I think with him or without him I try to do my best,” Guardiola said this week. “Without him, I think I would have done the same. It would have been another rival.” As for Mourinho: “With him I remember more the three years we fought on the same side, working together at the same club. I remember more that than what people can speak about rivalry. Then of course Barcelona and Real Madrid, Inter and Barcelona in the Champions League, City and United, now Tottenham and City. A new chapter for us because it’s the first time, Tottenham against Manchester City with us. Never Jose and Josep, like he is in Catalan. For me, it’s a game I want to win because I want my team to win and we need points. No more than that.”
He has a point, though: Spurs really do need points. They are currently eighth, and a win today would rocket them up to fifth, but they are only three points away from 13th, and they have only won once all season against a team currently in the top half (at seventh-placed Wolves in December). They will be able to call on the exciting Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn, signed this week, in their quest to secure another one. As for City, they don’t really need points, being as they are an extremely comfortable 15 points from dropping out of the Champions League places and an extremely distant 23 points from the top of the table. Still, points are nice. They’d probably enjoy a few more points.
Ever the incorrigible optimist, I’m expecting a cracker. Welcome!