Manchester City take on Tottenham this evening – and Mark Lawrenson is backing a 2-2 draw.
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will draw 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
City head into the game having been embarrassed 4-0 away at Everton last weekend, which was the heaviest league defeat of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Today’s hosts are now ten points behind league leaders Chelsea and already appear to be out of the title race, whilst a top four finish is no longer a given, as they not only sit fifth, but have local rivals Manchester United breathing down their necks.
City’s patchy form coupled and heavy defeats mean that the pressure is mounting on Guardiola, and the last team he will want to face right now is a red-hot Tottenham Hotspur side.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are in sensational form, as last weekend’s 4-0 thumping of West Bromwich Albion was their sixth league win in a row, conceding just three goals in that run whilst scoring 19.
Mark Lawrenson
Now second in the table, Tottenham look to be the main contenders to Chelsea in the race for the title, and having beaten City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium last season, they’ll be looking for a repeat result this evening.
The game sees Guardiola and Pochettino lock horns again, as whilst the City boss was in charge of Barcelona, Pochettino was managing across the city with Espanyol, and Tottenham’s masterclass in the 2-0 win over City in October means that City should be very wary of another defeat.
Ahead of the game, pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Tottenham’s system suits them perfectly right now, and doesn’t think they will miss injured defender Jan Vertonghen – and with John Stones struggling with City, he’s backing a high-scoring 2-2 draw tonight.
“Tottenham are flying right now and I don’t think Jan Vertonghen’s injury will affect them because in Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies they have got a couple of potential replacements at the back,” said Lawrenson. “I like their 3-5-2 formation because it really suits their players and you could argue that, at the moment, they are the best team in the league.”
“I would expect some improvement from Manchester City after last week’s heavy defeat against Everton but they are struggling defensively and this Spurs team will definitely create chances against them too. Put it this way, I can see there being a few goals at both ends.”
“There has been a lot of debate about City’s £50m defender John Stones of late. Stones is a really good footballer who is a bit unlucky that Nicolas Otamendi is his centre-back partner, and City’s full-backs are not good enough. But Stones has got to start making good defensive decisions himself. He needs to become a defender who can manage the game, because City do not have one at the moment,” he added.
What’s your prediction for Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur?
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