Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City meet again in domestic cup action on Wednesday night as City travel down to north London for this Carabao Cup fourth-round tie.
These two sides faced off in the FA Cup last season with City claiming their first-ever win (and scoring their first goal) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by virtue of a Nathan Ake winner. Pep Guardiola’s side then claimed a huge victory at the same stadium in their penultimate game of the Premier League season to take them one step closer to a fourth-straight league title.
The circumstances won’t be so peculiar on Wednesday night, with sections of the Tottenham fanbase willing on City during their last outing to prevent Arsenal from winning the league title.
The Lilywhite faithful are desperate for silverware and a triumph here would see Spurs into the quarter-finals of this competition. Ange Postecoglou’s side came from behind late on to beat Coventry in the third round, while City edged past Watford to advance.
Here is 90min’s guide to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie in north London.
Tottenham vs Man City H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Tottenham |
Man City |
|---|---|
|
Crystal Palace 1-0 Tottenham – 27/10/24 |
Man City 1-0 Southampton – 26/10/24 |
|
Tottenham 1-0 AZ Alkmaar – 24/10/24 |
Man City 5-0 Sparta Prague – 23/10/24 |
|
Tottenham 4-1 West Ham – 19/10/24 |
Wolves 1-2 Man City – 20/10/24 |
|
Brighton 3-2 Tottenham – 06/10/24 |
Man City 3-2 Fulham – 05/10/24 |
|
Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham – 03/10/24 |
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City – 01/10/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
Paramount+ |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
Postecoglou is going to shuffle his pack from Sunday’s disappointing defeat, but it’s not yet known whether captain Son Heung-min will return to the fold after he missed the trip to Selhurst Park. Djed Spence is currently absent with a groin injury.
Teenager Mikey Moore could retain his place down the left if Son isn’t fit to start, and there should be starts for Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.
Radu Dragusin could come into Spurs’ backline, while Richarlison will be hoping for a start over Dominic Solanke.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Man City (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Gray; Bentancur, Bergvall, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Guardiola will turn to the club’s academy on Wednesday night, but there’s bound to be some experience sprinkled into his starting XI.
John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan were used off the bench at the weekend so could return to the team on Wednesday, while Nathan Ake, who started last week’s beatdown of Sparta Prague, was an unused substitute.
James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly are set for starts in midfield, while teenage defender Kaden Braithwaite could retain his place at the heart of City’s backline after he impressed during the third-round win over Watford.
Man City predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Braithwaite, Ake; O’Reilly, Gundogan; McAtee, Nunes, Savio; Foden.
City’s likely team selection gives Tottenham a good chance of progressing into the quarter-finals on Wednesday. While Guardiola’s side once dominated this competition, the Spaniard hasn’t given it too much thought in recent years and he’s unlikely to be too downbeat over a defeat here given the demands of the Cityzens’ schedule.
Ange will want another response from his players after Sunday’s dire showing at Palace, and his team have performed well on home soil this season. However, there is a considerable drop-off in performance levels when the manager rotates due to a lack of familiarity as opposed to talent, so they’re not going to blitz past their young visitors on Wednesday.
This one could go either way, and a penalty shootout could be required to decide the victor.
