EPL: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur - 3 things to watch out for
Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur in a crucial Premier League match at the Etihad stadium tomorrow. This is going to be the second match between those two sides in three days, after Tottenham managed to qualify for the semifinal of UEFA Champions League at City’s expense.
City beat Tottenham 4-3 but lost on the away goal rule, as Spurs made it to the Champions League semis for the first time. However, their clash on Saturday is going to be almost equally important, as City would be desperate for three points in that match in order to keep the pressure on Liverpool.
Liverpool are leading the league table with 85 points from 34 matches, whereas City have 83 from 33. A win tomorrow would take City to the top of the table again. Tottenham, with 67 points from 34 matches, would also like to get at least a point from tomorrow’s match in order to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive.
We would now take a look at the 3 crucial factors to watch out for in tomorrow’s match:
#1 Pep might drop Laporte, but De Bruyne should start
Aymeric Laporte has been one of the best defenders of the Premier League this season, but his errors in the Champions League quarter final second leg helped Tottenham a great deal. He lost the ball on two occasions on Wednesday night, and Tottenham scored on both of them. It was an unusually bad outing for the French defender, who has otherwise been consistently good.
Laporte might not start tomorrow for City, as Pep Guardiola might opt for either John Stones or Nicolas Otamendi in his starting line-up.
On the other hand, Kevin De Bruyne, who has missed a considerable part of the season because of injuries, should start again after an excellent performance on Wednesday. He registered a couple of assists on Wednesday night, and should again be most potent creative weapon in City’s team.