Spurs face Pep Guardiola’s Citizens in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur will contest their second senior game at their new stadium and what a fixture it is – the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against fellow Premier League side Manchester City.
Spurs had no game at the weekend, their last encounter being the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace last week – the first senior game back at N17 – which proved a huge confidence boost as it stopped a poor run in the league.
Man City, meanwhile, were in action on Saturday, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Wembley to seal their place in the final of the competition, but that in turn meant they would have had less time to prepare for their Champions League tie.
However, Premier League legend and pundit Stan Collymore is not confident about Tottenham’s chances over the two legs, suggesting that Pep Guardiola’s strength in depth and the confidence within their ranks will make the difference.
“I think City will find it comfortable – a 2-1 or a 2-0 both games,” Collymore wrote in The Mirror. “That is because of the weaponry City have, and the confidence they are playing with. Will Spurs have a high press for 180 minutes of football like Liverpool did, which completely screwed City and made them look ordinary at this stage last year?
“Or will they counter attack, soak up pressure and nick the ball on the break? I don’t think Spurs have 180 minutes of pressing like Liverpool had. I think we’ll see 50 minutes of Spurs energy, but City coming into it late, top quality attacking subs, and a City win.”
Tuesday’s game is the first ever European meeting between Tottenham and City in what is the 157th meeting between the two teams in all competitions.
The Citizens have won 11 of their last 16 matches against Spurs, with all those meetings coming in the Premier League, and they’ve won their last three in a row.
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