September 06, 2019 / By mobanmarket
The Premier League holders began the season in ominous form but will have to improve against a Spurs side tipped to challenge for the title this year
Manchester City return to the home comforts of the Etihad Stadium for the first time since being crowned Premier League champions on the final day last season.
Having provided West Ham’s optimistic fans with a reality check on the opening day, they face Tottenham in a match sure to evoke memories of last year’s scarcely believable Champions League quarter-final tie.
Spurs initially struggled against Aston Villa in their first game of the season, but Harry Kane got off the mark with a brace after record signing Tanguy Ndombele had announced his arrival with a stunning equaliser.
| Game | Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur |
| Date | Saturday, August 17 |
| Time | 5:30pm BST / 12:30pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBC / Telemundo | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the UK, the match will be shown on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, and available to stream on Sky Go.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go |
| Position | Manchester City squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ederson, Bravo, Carson |
| Defenders | Walker, Stones, Laporte, Angelino, Mendy, Cancelo, Otamendi, Zinchenko |
| Midfielders | Rodri, Fernandinho, Gundogan, De Bruyne, D. Silva, B. Silva, Foden |
| Forwards | Aguero, Jesus, Sterling, Sane, Mahrez |
Sergio Aguero, who was rested last weekend after summer exploits at the Copa America, makes his first start of the season.
Benjamin Mendy and Leroy Sane are out with long-term injuries, while goalkeeper Ederson is set to play on his 26th birthday.
Manchester City starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; B. Silva, Sterling, Aguero.
Subs: Bravo, Jesus, D. Silva, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden.
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| Position | Tottenham Hotspur squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lloris, Gazzaniga |
| Defenders | Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Rose, Walker-Peters, Foyth, Aurier, Davies, Sessegnon |
| Midfielders | Winks, Wanyama, Dier, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Alli, Eriksen, Ndombele, Skipp |
| Forwards | Kane, Son, Moura, Lamela, Nkoudou |
Dele Alli and Ryan Sessegnon are still unavailable with injuries, while Heung-min Son and Juan Foyth are suspended.
Giovani Lo Celso could make his first appearance for the club, while Christian Eriksen starts after his excellent performance from the bench last weekend.
Tottenham starting XI: Lloris; Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Winks, Ndombele, Sissoko; Eriksen, Lamela, Kane.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Skipp, Lo Celso, Lucas.
City are odds-on favourites to take the win at 1/3 favourites with bet365 . Tottenham are priced at 7/1 while a draw is available at 17/4.
Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Mauricio Pochettino is one of Pep Guardiola’s oldest and most respected managerial opponents, and he will have to use all his years of experience to try and ensure an interesting start to this year’s title race.
Despite a 5-0 win and promising performances from the likes of Rodri and Riyad Mahrez, Guardiola was not totally satisfied with his team’s performance against West Ham last weekend and it was clear City had plenty of room to improve.
Spurs had the better of City in Europe last season, while it was the eventual league champions who prevailed 1-0 in both league games. That underlines how close the competition between these sides generally is on the pitch and, with Spurs having reached last year’s Champions League final, Guardiola is expecting another hard-fought game.
“We learned how good they are on many occasions,” he said. “They’re the second-best team in Europe.
“Since I came here to England they’ve been a real contender every season. The first season they finished second… they’ve always been there or thereabouts.”
Though Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho might be the men most closely associated with a rivalry with Guardiola, Pochettino has proved himself a worthy opponent over the years.
The Argentine, though, has played down the significance of any personal competition between the two, jokingly suggesting that a boxing match or football one-on-one would be a better way to settle such a score.
Mourinho suggested last week that Spurs were one of the teams who could win the league this season, and Pochettino was appreciative for the vote of confidence.
“Wow. I love Mou,” he said. “You know very well, he’s so clever and so sarcastic sometimes. That’s why he’s one of the best managers in the world and I respect his opinion.
“Of course I’m grateful because a manager like Mourinho believes we have the potential to be contenders. That’s important. We have our belief and faith in us and we know very well us but that compliment helps us to believe in ourselves a little bit more.”
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