Manchester City face a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday, just over two weeks after a second-half masterclass inspired by Riyad Mahrez led City to a 4-2 win against the same opponents at the Etihad. Pep Guardiola’s side has a dismal record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they have never won a game or even found the back of the net in four attempts. A 1-0 defeat and a missed Sergio Aguero penalty in the Champions League Quarter-Final 1st leg in the 18/19 was City’s first visit to Spur’s new stadium. 19/20 saw the Blues lose 2-0 after an Oleksandr Zinchenko red card and an Ilkay Gundogan missed penalty saw the Blues condemned to defeat. The 20/21 season saw the Blues once again defeated 2-0 after an Aymeric Laporte disallowed goal found City 10th in the league after the defeat. The Blues went on to romp to the league title by 12 points. The opening game of the 21/22 season saw City begin their title defence away to Spurs, Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 to a Heung-Min Son second-half goal.
Ahead of City’s fifth trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pep Guardiola was asked about his side’s poor record against Antonio’s Conte side, “They were better than us. When we were there, we played good, missed penalties. They don’t give you anything, before, now with Conte, they are a tough opponent. Always there for titles. A tough place to go.” [via @_joebray].
With City five points behind leader’s Arsenal, Sunday’s trip is a must-win for Guardiola and his side if they still have ambitions to retain their title. With Erling Haaland and co, and Spurs in poor form, Sunday is the perfect time for City to open their account at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and take home a very valuable three points.