Steve, London: ‘We’ll definitely have a go at them tonight and hopefully take 3 points’ – Justin Baker, aged 6, Spurs captain.
Nearly got me for a moment… I must admit this comment made me chuckle.
Guardiola’s bogey team
Pep Guardiola normally doesn’t struggle, but against Tottenham he does… from time to time.
Since being in charge at City, they have lost six Premier League games against Tottenham, more than against any other opponent.
Not just that, but their record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the league is woeful.
They are yet to score in their four trips to the stadium in the League, losing all of them.
Will that run come to an end tonight?
Van de Ven at LB?
While it’s a strong Tottenham team, I can’t help but be surprised to see Mickey van de Ven at left-back.
Yes, I know he played there briefly at the weekend, but he has been brilliant as a centre-back this campaign.
He certainly has the pace for it though, so it will be interesting to see his battle with Bernardo Silva
Man City Team News – Walker STARTS
Just the one change for Manchester City, following their 4-0 thumping of Fulham.
Kyle Walker replaces the injured Nathan Ake.
Not exactly a bad person to bring into the side, eh?
Tottenham Team News – THREE changes
Well, it’s a strong Tottenham team.
Ange Postecoglou has made three changes from the team that scraped a 2-1 victory against Burnley at the weekend.
Radu Dragusin, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all come into the side.
It seems Mickey van de Ven Is set to be deployed at left-back.
Jamie Carragher: ‘Crowd won’t take Spurs anywhere tonight’
Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender, on Sky Sports:
Once that whistle is blown, you’re (as a player) giving everything in that game. But what won’t happen is, the crowd won’t take them anywhere tonight. If Spurs get anything from this game it will be all down to themselves.
City on a roll
Manchester City are really enjoying life at the moment.
It’s fair to say they don’t really get homesick, especially this time of year.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won four Premier League away games on the trot, scoring 10 goals in their last three combined, while conceding none.
However, as we will go into depth later, they aren’t always keen on a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Will they be able to continue their fine form tonight?
What atmosphere will we get?
So, the fans are starting to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
I am interested to see what kind of atmosphere there will be tonight with the predicament Tottenham fans are in.
Many season ticket holders couldn’t even bear the thought of turning up tonight, so returned their tickets to the club.
It means there could be a lot of empty seats inside the stadium tonight, which is a rarity.
It’s such an odd situation…
Jamie Carragher: ‘Spurs fans shouldn’t want their team to win tonight’
Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender, on Sky Sports:
I can’t wait for it to start just to see what the atmosphere is like. This is not unique, it’s happened before, but I don’t think a Spurs fan should want their team to win tonight.
I’ve grown up in a city with a similar rivalry and if the boot was on the other foot I think Arsenal fans would be exactly the same.
Should Spurs fans want to win?
I think Ange Postecoglou has made his opinion on this subject very clear…
However, what do all of you think?
Personally, I can understand the anguish Spurs fans, but I feel when the game gets going their will to win will subside their hate of Arsenal.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Ange Postecoglou: ‘I will never understand if someone wants their own team to lose’
Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham boss, speaking on Monday:
I understand rivalry, I was part of one of the biggest ones in the world in the last couple of years with Celtic and Rangers. But I will never understand if someone wants their own team to lose.
That’s not what sport is about. It’s not what I love about the game. What I love more than anything is the competitiveness, challenging yourself to beat someone and coming out successful. Anything outside of that, it’s got nothing to do with sport.
If other people want to treat it that way, that they get pleasure from other people’s misery, that’s not how I’ve lived my life and how I perceive my role. My role is to bring success to this football club and I know 100 percent of Spurs supporters want us to win, to be successful, and win trophies. Winning will help us bring joy to 100 percent of Spurs supporters.
Conflicting emotions for Spurs
Did Tottenham fans ever think that they would be in this position?
It feels like the majority of their fanbase is desperate for them to lose tonight. If they win they allow Arsenal to take pole position in the title race going into the final day.
You don’t need a genius to tell you that Spurs hate the Gunners, so it makes this a very sticky situation for them.
One Spurs fan told me they are not ‘hoping’ they lose but would be ‘happy to lose’ I think that statement shows the conflict perfectly.
Most Tottenham supporters would echo that statement, but not all do.
Another fan told me they want a Spurs win, despite not wanting Arsenal to win the league because they support their team and ‘City need to do it on their own’.
Contrasting thoughts…
What’s at stake
So, we know the title race is going to go to the final day.
However, that doesn’t mean that today won’t play a deciding factor in where the Premier League trophy ends up.
After Arsenal’s win at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Gunners sit top of the pile by one point.
A Tottenham win, or even get a draw, means Arsenal will be top going into the final day. Meanwhile, a City win means they will be two points clear and on course for a record fourth consecutive Premier League title.
Can Spurs aid bitter rivals title charge?
This is simply a situation all Spurs fans wanted to avoid.
If Tottenham beat Manchester City tonight, their north London rivals, Arsenal, will go into the final day one point clear of the Citizens at the summit of the Premier League.
There is no doubt that the Gunners fans will be supporting Tottenham for one night only, their destiny lies in their hands.
Or does it? We have to remember, City look unstoppable now, while Tottenham are far from their best form.
Even if Spurs do make a fight of it tonight, it doesn’t guarantee that they will be able to topple the Pep Guardiola’s team of juggernauts.
If they do though, they will have done their greatest enemies a huge favour.
‘Title decider’ at Tottenham
It’s arguably the biggest night of the season.
The build-up to tonight’s game between Tottenham and Manchester City has been bizarre, and that’s an understatement.
This game feels like it is going to decide the Premier League title race between City and Spurs’ bitter rivals, Arsenal.
However, Tottenham fans could think of nothing worse than seeing the Gunners lift the trophy aloft on Sunday, but if they beat the Citizens tonight, that becomes more than a distinct possibility.
I imagine it is going to be one of the strangest atmospheres we have seen, and the match could be the same. Stick with us to see how it will unfold.