|
While Manchester
City possess a home record that shows they are yet to be
beaten and Tottenham one which shows they are yet to win
away, I am cautiously optimistic about this match.
Coming off the
back of five goals against Charlton and a good 3-1 UEFA Cup
win against Dinamo Bucharest, I reckon Tottenham are
approaching this game in good form, whereas City lost their
Manchester derby last week and have injuries and suspensions
hitting their side. without the depth of squad that Spurs
have at their disposal.
With City
struggling early on this season, their home form has been
their salvation, but the lack of scoring has hit them hard
and just when Bernardo Corradi looked as though he was going
to go on a run, he got sent off and will serve a suspension
that keeps him out of this match. Samaras and Fowler
may well be paired together against King and Dawson, who
should manage to keep them under shackles. However,
the annoying Dickov might feature at some stage and Darius
Vassell is still speedy and a good finisher, so will need to
be kept wide by our full backs.
The midfield
is where most of City's power comes from and Joey Barton has
been playing very well after his personal problems.
Claudio Reyna adds experience in the midfield, but may
struggle to make the start, as is Dietmar Hamann, leaving
Hatem Trabelsi on the right and DeMarcus Beasley on the
left. Trabelsi was a player heavily linked with a move
to Spurs in the summer and Beasley is a player I like.
While Trablesi is getting on a bit, Beasley is athletic and
works the line well. our wide midfielders will need to
pay attention to the defensive side of their game to ensure
they don't let them get forward too often. Stephens
Jordan and Ireland might be up for selection in midfield,
but neither has shown outstanding form of late.
With the
defence missing Thatcher and Sun Jihai, the central pairing
of Dunne and Distin will be flanked by Micah Richards and
Nedum Onuaha. Richards is another player Spurs admire,
as do many other clubs, while Onuaha is a young talent, who
has yet to establish himself in the Premier League. By
switching Lennon to run at him, Tottenham might get some joy
on the forward front.
With Berbatov
in good scoring form alongside Jermain Defoe, it would be a
brave man who changes the line up, but Jol is just that and
I think he will start with Mido, who is now fit. The
physical approach of Dunne and Distin might suit the
Egyptian better and Berbatov can always come off the bench.
As
Huddlestone is playing so well he cannot be dropped, the
fact we are missing Jenas, Tainio and Zokora might mean a
league recall for Ghaly, who played against Dinamo on
Thursday and did well That leaves Lennon and another start
for Malbranque who had a rest for the majority of the match
on Thursday.
It will not
be an easy game, as Stuart Pearce will have his side fired
up, especially as they have not got a very good record
against us in the recent few games, so it will need a solid
performance away from home ... something that has not
characterised our performances away for the Lane so far.
With all that
said, I reckon we might take the points, but only just ...
PREDICTION
: - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur
2
For more information on
the opponents and their history, including full result history of
matches between the two teams, click
here.
|
Manchester City
(Away)
