Wednesday evening, at 20:00, Manchester City receives Tottenham’s visit to Etihad Stadium, in the second quarter of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Spurs landed 1-0 on his own ground after a very balanced match so any London goal could prove decisive in the second hand.
Betting houses believe Pep Guardiola’s “football machine” remains favorite in qualifying in the semifinals, even though Tottenham has impressed on the tour. The hosts can not rely on Fernandinho and Zinchenko, and the absence of the Brazilian could be very important in the middle of the field, where Tottenham has an extra strength. On the other hand, Mauricio Pochettino comes without a number of important players, such as Dier, Kane, Lamela and Winks, who are injured. Alli, Aurier and Llorente are uncertain, which further complicates Argentina’s calculations. Kane’s absence will definitely affect Tottenham‘s offensive force, which has to withstand the pressure of “citizens”, recognized for their own field strength.
Manchester City has a weak balance in the European doubles in which he lost his first hand: only two qualifies out of seven possible, which should give emotions to the fans of “citizens.” Given that City has scored 16 goals in its previous four home games in the Champions League, we are all chances to see a host from four of the last 5 duels with Tottenham 3-0, 4- 1, 3-1 and 1-0.
After a hesitant moment in the championship, Spurs seems to have returned and comes after success with Crystal Palace (2-0) and Huddersfield (4-0), both on the new arena in London, where Pochettino’s team has a maximum percentage of victories. City comes after the championship wins with Fulham (2-0), Cardiff (2-0) and Crystal Palace (3-1) but also after a qualification in the English Cup finals after 1-0 with Brighton . Guardiola’s lot offers many offensive options, and Tottenham will have to make a perfect defensive play to hope for the qualifying.
Pep Guardiola has a positive balance in the duel with Mauricio Pochettino, as the two have also met in unbalanced duels between Barcelona and Espanyol. Pep has lost only three of the 15 games played against the Argentine, but City does not have to underestimate the quality of Tottenham’s collective game. The Londoners have scored in each of the last four visits to Etihad and have their head in the head, which could decide the qualifying. Tottenham knows that a defensive game could be fatal on Wednesday night, so we expect a duel on the edge of the knife in the second half, when the fate of the “double” will be decided.
MANCHESTER CITY – TOTTENHAM PROBABLE TEAMS
Man City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Mendy; De Buyne, Gundogan, Silva; Bernardo, Aguero, Sterling
Tottenham XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Trippier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose; Wanyama, Sissoko; Eriksen, Dele Alli, Son; Lucas
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1,46
