Manchester City will be looking to reduce the gap at the top as we look at the best predicted starting lineup and key details for their match vs Spurs for EPL 2023.
Manchester City will lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur in their home fixture at Etihad on Thursday evening. Both the teams are coming into this match after losing their respective derbies. While City lost 1-2 a thrilling encounter against high-flying Manchester United, Spurs lost 0-2 in the North London derby to table-toppers Arsenal in their last PL fixture.
City are not at their usual best this season. They have already lost 3 matches in PL so far, which is equal to the number of losses they had in the whole last season. They have some catching to do as they are certainly outclassed by the Gunners so far this season. Cityzens are 8 points behind Arsenal which are exactly the same number of points they dropped in the last 5 PL matches.
On the other hand, the Spurs are facing challenges of their own. The form of Son is the major cause of worry for manager Conte as the prolific midfielder is way below his standards this season. His partnership with Captain Kane was the highlight of the Spurs’ gameplay in the last few seasons.
Son along with right winger Kulusevski needs to lift their game to bring the Spurs to winning ways. Kane will look to make this fixture memorable as he is just a couple of goals away from 200 PL goals. He will be only the third player to do so after Premier League legend Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.
History
There is nothing to choose between the two if we look overall record. But if we look at the Premier League era then the Spurs have the upper hand with 28 wins in comparison to the 17 wins the Cityzens. Spurs have won 4 out of the last 5 PL encounters between these two. Even in last season, Champions Manchester City only lost 3 fixtures and 2 of them were against Spurs. The other team to beat them was Crystal Palace in the home encounter.
Games Played: 166 // Manchester City won: 65 // Tottenham won: 65 // Draw: 36
Match Details:
League Type: English Premier League (GW 7)
Match Type: Manchester City vs Tottenham
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
When: January 20, 1.30 am IST (8 pm GMT)
Manchester City Current Form (Recent first): L W D W L
Tottenham Current Form (Recent first): L W L D W
Predicting Starting 11 for both Teams
EPL 2023: Manchester City vs Spurs Predicted Starting Lineup for Manchester City
Matches are coming thick and fast for the clubs due to the accommodation of the World Cup window mid-season. Manchester City just like any other high-profile team competing in every possible competition faces the challenge to provide adequate rest to key players and testing the bench strength without hampering the chances of winning.
Ederson will start in front of the post with defensive duties assigned to Rico Lewis, Laporte, Akanji and Walker. Cancelo might lose his place to Lewis based on his current dip in form. Whereas, Laporte is expected to replace Ake in the central defence position.
Choosing mid-field might be tricky with a lot of options available. But we expect Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva, and Grealish to start the proceedings. Haaland has not scored in consecutive two matches which is the first time since his arrival in PL. He will look to get back to his usual goal-scoring habit. Kalvin Philips and Alvarez will start from the bench and might play important role in the later stages of the game.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defence: Rico Lewis, Laporte, Akanji, Walker.
Defensive Midfield: Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne,
Attacking Midfield: Grealish, Silva
Forward: Haaland
Formation: 4-3-3
EPL 2023: Manchester City vs Spurs Predicted Starting Lineup for Tottenham
Tottenham manager Conte will look to compact the spaces in midfield to nullify the threat possessed by the high-intensity City midfield. Eric Dier will be at the heart of defensive duties along with Romero and Davies. Perisc will be at left wing and will be key in counterattack situations along with Doherty at right wing.
Hojbjerg’s role will be more of a holding midfielder to provide extra cushion to the defensive setup. In attacking positions trio of Son, Kane and Kulusevski will be there. Richarlison has to wait on the bench and might come as the first change in the second half.
Goalkeeper: Lloris
Defence: Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, Ben Davies
Midfield: Ivan Perisic, Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, Matt Doherty
Attack: Son Hueng-min, Harry Kane, Kulusevski
Formation: 3-4-3
EPL 2022-23: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur Fantasy 11
Looking at the attacking options of both the teams, we expect few goals to be scored in this fixture. The clean sheet is highly unlikely as both teams will look to bounce back to winning ways.Defensive picks in form of Lewis, and Perisic play an important part in the attacking setup as well. Other defenders, Dier, and Laporte are good attacking threats during dead ball situations.
Our mid-fielders comprise playmakers and will decide the course of the game. To have Heung Min Son and De Bruyne in a fantasy team is an easy choice as both of them are seasoned and proven fantasy options. Phil Foden may prove handy with his pace.
Ahh, look at this attacking line of the highest quality in form of Kane, Haaland and Grealish which is surely a luxury to have in fantasy 11. With all said, let’s look at our chosen fantasy 11 for this match
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defenders: Lewis, Dier, Laporte, Perisic
Midfielders Silva, Son, Kevin De Bruyne
Forwards: Kane, Erling Haaland, Grealish
CVC Choice: Erling Haaland and Harry Kane
Squad Details:
Manchester City Squad:
Goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega Moreno, Ederson, Scott Carson
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Tottenham Squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin
Defenders: Matt Doherty, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Emerson Royal, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Japhet Tanganga
Midfielders: Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Heung-Min Son, Dejan Kulusevski, Ivan Perisic, Pape Matar Sarr, Harvey White, Ryan Sessegnon, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur
Forwards: Richarlison, Harry Kane, Bryan Gil, Lucas Moura
Manager: Antonio Conte
Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the Manchester City vs Spurs game of EPL 2022-23? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
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Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.