Manchester City will endeavour to close the five-point gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
Both the Citizens and Spurs are looking to get back on track after suffering 2-1 defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Ipswich Town respectively prior to the international break.
Match preview
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Man City's aforementioned loss away against Brighton a fortnight ago condemned Pep Guardiola to a fourth successive defeat for the first time in his illustrious managerial career, while the Citizens have not lost this many games consecutively in all competitions since 2006 (six) under former boss Stuart Pearce.
Back-to-back top-flight defeats, including a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth, have seen Man City fall five points behind an in-form Liverpool outfit at the top of the table after 11 matches. While it would be nonsensical to write the reigning champions off at this early stage, they can ill-afford to slip further behind if they wish to continue pushing for a record fifth straight title.
Man City supporters entered November's international break dejected, but they are now in high spirits after the club confirmed on Thursday evening that Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract extension at the club, while a number of first-team stars have stepped up their recovery from injury and have made a timely return to training this week.
The Citizens are now gearing up for eight challenging fixtures - six in the Premier League and two in the Champions League - over a 29-day period leading up to Christmas, starting off with Saturday's clash against Tottenham whom they have beaten just three times in their last 10 league meetings (D2 L5).
After losing all of their last four games away from home, Man City will welcome this weekend's return to the Etihad where they have not lost any of their last 52 matches across all competitions, boasting a 35-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League, with 13 points from a possible 15 available collected so far this season.
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This time last year, Spurs were flying in Ange Postecoglou's debut season and were sitting second in the Premier League table, just one point behind Man City at the summit. Fast forward 12 months and they are 10 points and eight places worse off following a frustratingly erratic start to the current campaign.
Inconsistency has indeed been a real issue for Spurs, who have won five, drawn one and lost five of their opening 11 Premier League games this term, while they have also won four and lost four of their last eight matches across all competitions, most recently losing to Galatasaray and Ipswich.
Tottenham may be down in 10th place in the top-flight standings, but there is no need to panic for Postecoglou and co, as they are only three points behind Chelsea in third, while their recent record against Saturday's opponents Man City - who they beat 2-1 in the EFL Cup just over three weeks ago - should provide them with a psychological boost.
Indeed, the North Londoners have accumulated 17 points across their last 10 Premier League meetings with the Citizens, while they have scored at least twice in each of their last three visits to the Etihad, including three in a thrilling 3-3 draw last season - no team has ever scored multiple goals in four consecutive Premier League trips to Man City.
Tottenham's overall away form leave little to be desired, though, as they have won just four of their last 18 Premier League matches on the road over the last 12 months. Since the start of March, no top-flight team has lost more games than Spurs (seven) who have picked up just four points from their opening five away fixtures so far this season.
Team News
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Ballon d'Or winner Rodri will be in attendance at the Etihad this weekend to parade his prestigious accolade, but the midfielder remains sidelined as he continues to recover from an ACL injury, while Oscar Bobb (leg fracture) is another long-term absentee.
Guardiola has confirmed that Mateo Kovacic is facing a spell on the sidelines with an unspecified injury, while Ruben Dias (calf) and youngster Max Alleyne (unspecified) are also unavailable for selection.
However, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes have all taken part in training this week and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
The potential return of Stones, Akanji and Dias could see two of those start in central defence - and potentially one in midfield in the absence of Kovacic - with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey making way and Josko Gvardiol moving over to left-back, while Rico Lewis and Kyle Walker are set to battle for a start at right-back.
Erling Haaland scored four goals across two games for Norway over the international break and is expected to lead the line this weekend, while Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all in contention to start in midfield.
As for Tottenham, they will be without Rodrigo Bentancur who has been handed a seven-match ban by the Football Association for comments he made about teammate Son Heung-min a few months ago. Spurs have since lodged an appeal against the length of the ban.
Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are also ruled out with hamstring injuries, the former of whom is still a "good couple of weeks" away from making a return, while Cristian Romero - whose wife has just had a baby daughter - is also sidelined with a foot problem, as is youngster Mikey Moore (illness).
The absence of both Van de Ven and Romero could see Ben Davies partner Radu Dragusin at the heart of defence, while Yves Bissouma could be recalled to replace Bentancur and start in centre-midfield alongside Dejan Kulusevski and either Pape Matar Sarr or James Maddison.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Lewis, Gundogan; Bernardo, Foden, Savinho; Haaland
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son
We say: Manchester City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have been somewhat of a bogey team for Guardiola over the years, as Man City have lost more Premier League games (six) and have conceded more Premier League goals (22) against Spurs than they have against any other opponent under the Catalan coach.
Spurs will fancy their chances of breaching City's backline once again this weekend in what could turn out to be another entertaining, action-packed contest filled with goalmouth activity, but if the Citizens are to welcome back some of their key players, they should get the job done in front of a carnival atmosphere at the Etihad following Guardiola's contract renewal.
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Oliver Thomas
