English Premier League: Tottenham vs. Manchester City Preview, Odds, Prediction

The clash between Tottenham and Manchester City is the biggest game of the English Premier League‘s opening round. These two sides have been the best in England over the past few years, with the note that the Spurs are on the decline, while on the other side, the Citizens keep on smashing all the rivals, and winning titles as well. Also, what spices up this matchup is that Pep Guardiola’s side wants to land Harry Kane, who isn’t willing to play for the London team anymore. Per several reliable sources from overseas, the English captain won’t play tomorrow night.

Preview

Tottenham (+450) enters this match with numerous troubles, the biggest one, poor chemistry in the locker room. Everything started with Kane’s refusal to participate in Tottenham’s training sessions and his desire to leave North London, which decreased the Spurs’ morale.

It won’t be easy for Nuno Espirito Santo to change that and bring back Tottenham on the right path. Though, we need to say that the Spurs played more or less well during the preparations period, posting three wins and two draws, defeating Arsenal, 1-0, and playing 2-2 against the European champions Chelsea.

With Espirito Santo as the head coach, we might expect them to continue with the same style of play as in the past – tough defense and quick counter-attacks with an incredibly fast transition.

Manchester City (-130) wants to recover from a nasty loss in the Community Shield match, once they suffered a defeat to Leicester, 1-0. It was a slap in the face for Guardiola’s boys and a wake-up call.

The Citizens didn’t play too many friendly international games during this summer. The first one was against Preston, 2-0, then vs. Barnsley, 4-0, and at last a victory over Blackpool, 4-1. But as we said, all this was forgotten after a defeat handed by the Foxes.

Guardiola needs to incorporate Jack Grealish into Man City’s game, as the most expensive English player ever expects to start the game against Tottenham. In our personal opinion, Grealish wasn’t that big of a need for the Citizens, but we’ll see what Guardiola has in mind for him.

Latest News

Ryan Sessegnon is questionable for Tottenham due to his muscle injury. Kane won’t play for sure, the same as Ndombele and Romero, which is a great blow for the home team.

On the other side, the situation is not good for the visitors at all. De Bruyne, Delap, and Foden are under a question mark, while Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling, Stones, and Walker won’t play for sure. That is pretty much half of the starting lineup.

Head to Head Games

City won the previous two games played, both of them without a goal conceded, 1-0 and 3-0. Overall, the past four have been with just one side netting.

Prediction

This is the match in which Man City needs to win, regardless of their injury problems. Kane is not available for the hosts, which is a huge relief for the Citizens’ defense. Therefore, City to win at -130 is our choice.