Can free scoring Manchester City breach the stubborn Spurs backline?

There is an oft quoted football cliché that “football is a game of two halves”, so far for Manchester City, it has been a case of two legs, home and away. At home, they are the only team in the League with a perfect record, have scored goals for fun and have already kept three clean sheets. However, their form, away from home has been pathetic, to say the least. They have won just one game, against West Ham, and have already lost four games and their latest was a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, on the back of a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich, only the previous week.

So, they must thanking the football gods because they face Tottenham at home, where they are undefeated in 36 of their last 38 home matches in the Premier League. Tottenham, on the other hand, come into this game, having kept a clean sheet in their last three away games and have already accrued 10 points on their travels, conceding just a solitary goal. Only Arsenal, can boast of a better away record this season, but even that is only because they have played a game more. Whilst Spurs have managed to start the season brightly, thanks to a rock-solid defense which has already kept seven clean sheets in just 11 games, their attack hasn’t really settled yet.

Spurs come into this game, having scored just nine goals this season, only the bottom two clubs in the League have managed fewer. Whilst City on the other hand have the best attack in the league, having put the ball in the net 28 times, six more than League-leading Arsenal. On the face of it, this looks a game between attack and defense, a clash between the League’s most free scoring home team and the meanest away defense. But, this game is a lot more than that.

On the touchline, it is a battle of two very different managers. AVB is a man who hugs the touchline and is very vocal during the game, whilst Pellegrini is a very laid-back manager who never really lets emotion get the better of him. If there is one thing that you can be sure about, it is that emotions will be sky high in this encounter, especially given these side’s recent history. Because, let’s not forget, it was just three years ago, that Spurs came to the Etihad and clinched Champions League qualification at the expense of City in a game that is looking increasingly looking like a distant memory, at least for the Spurs faithful.

Although Spurs got the better of City on that day, ever since then, it has been City all the way through. They have lost their last three visits to the Etihad and each of them, has been courtesy of just a single goal. AVB will be hoping to change that record as he hopes to capitalize on a City outfit that will be without Silva and Kompany. Spurs, however, have injury concerns of their own with C Eriksen suffering an ankle injury whilst on national duty and will be without the services of the Danish play-maker for at least a month.

Irrespective of who takes to the field, it is a clash that is intriguing nonetheless as it pits seventh against eighth, in essentially a clash between two sides competing for not just a Champions League spot, but the League title as well. With Spurs unable to make a mark in an attacking sense, so far this season, AVB will be hoping that this momentous occasion spurs them on and will be looking to come away from the Etihad with at least a point.

For City, on the other hand, nothing less than three points will do, as a defeat might just put nine points behind leaders Arsenal. Although it is early in the season, a victory is imperative to keep their title hopes alive and Pellegrini will be hoping that Aguero, their leading scorer, will be able to breach a sturdy Spurs back-line at least once and give City some much needed impetus going forward.