"There will be goals in this game" - Chris Sutton makes prediction for Manchester City vs Tottenham clash
Former Chelsea forward Chris Sutton has made his prediction for Manchester City's Premier League home clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (November 23).
The Cityzens are on a four-game losing streak across competitions, including two losses in the league, where they trail leaders Liverpool (28) by five points after 11 games. Meanwhile, Spurs are 10th in the points table and coming off a 2-1 home loss to newly promoted Ipswich Town just before the international break.
Nevertheless, Sutton reckons Pep Guardiola's side will bounce back to winning ways, spurred on by their manager extending his contract at the Etihad by another year. He wrote in his prediction column for the BBC:
"It's safe to say Pep Guardiola has severely irritated the rest of the footballing public by agreeing his contract extension with Manchester City. You can just imagine the groans from Liverpool, north London and the red half of Manchester, because they know how dominant City have been under him.
"City are not playing well at the moment, which is why they are on this run of four straight defeats in all competitions. People have been looking at them as if the wheels are coming off, but they are still second and only five points off the top."
Sutton added:
"I do think Pep's new deal will give them a boost, and I am expecting them to bounce back. Tottenham have also been described as a 'crisis club' this season but they are still only three points off third place.
The table is so congested that anyone in mid-table who wins a couple of games in a row is going to be right up there, but I don’t see Spurs getting anything at the Etihad Stadium."
Predicting a 3-1 City win, he concluded:
"There will be goals in this game, because Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will not change his approach. He has already beaten City once this season, in the Carabao Cup, but I think Pep will come out on top this time."
For the first time in his illustrious managerial career, Guardiola has lost four straight games. The latest loss in this sequence was a 2-1 reverse at Brighton & Hove Albion in the league just before the international break.
What happened the last time when Manchester City hosted Tottenham Hotspur in the league?
Manchester City won't have happy memories from their last Premier League home meeting with Tottenham Hotspur, as the two teams drew 3-3 at the Etihad in December last year.
Spurs captain Son-heung Min opened the scoring inside six minutes for Spurs but scored an own goal three minutes later as City levelled proceedings. Phil Foden's 31st-minute strike gave the Cityzens a half-time advantage.
However, Giovani Lo Celso hauled Tottenham back on level terms midway through the second half. Jack Grealish thought he netted an 81st-minute winner for City only for Dejan Kulusevski to bag a dramatic 90th-minute equaliser.