Thu 25 September 2003, 12:00
Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).
City rarely look forward to the visit of the two north London clubs. They have won just one game at home against Spurs in the Premiership and lost to the Lilywhites and their local rivals Arsenal 10 times in the 13 games played.
But City are in good form, while Spurs are in something of a slump in the Premiership which has seen them glean only 22 points from 23 games since New Years Day. It also means that Spurs currently sit in the bottom three while City are on the coat-tails of the league leaders with just one league defeat — a 2-1 reverse at home against Arsenal.
Nicoals Anelka has certainly started the season on fire. He has bagged six goals to lead the way among the top scorers in the Premiership, but City will have to beware the striking prowess of another Frenchman — Frederic Kanoute — who has scored four times from just six shots on target. With finishing like that, City know they can not afford to be complacent in and around the penalty area.
Also, Robbie Keane looks likely remain in the starting line up after his goalscoring return at Coventry and the young Irishman has three goals against City — he hasn’t scored more against any opponent — although they all came when he was playing for Leeds.
But the key may be at the other end. No team has conceded more than the 44 goals Spurs have shipped in 2003, while City have only one clean sheet this season. The defensive frailties of both teams and the attacking talent on view may see this become a high-scoring game, which is bound to be high on entertainment.
HEAD TO HEAD: Anekla v Kanoute
| Player | Nicolas Anelka | Frederic Kanoute |
| Minutes On Pitch | 520 | 321 |
| Goal Attempts | ||
| Goals | 6 | 4 |
| Shots On Target | 13 | 6 |
| Shots Off Target | 9 | 9 |
| Accuracy % | 59% | 40% |
| Strike Rate % | 27% | 27% |
| Minutes per goal | 86.67 | 80.25 |
| Passing | ||
| Goal Assists | 1 | 1 |
| Total Passes | 130 | 99 |
| Pass Completion % | 70% | 67% |
| Discipline | ||
| Fouls | 5 | 9 |
| Offside | 17 | 2 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 0 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
STATS SO FAR: City v Spurs
| Manchester City | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| Games played | 6 | 6 |
| Goal Attempts | ||
| Goals | 14 | 5 |
| Goals-per-game | 2.33 | 0.83 |
| Shots | 78 | 77 |
| Shooting accuracy % | 50% | 26% |
| Goals-to-shots % | 17% | 6% |
| Distribution | ||
| Short passes | 1,416 | 1,286 |
| Long passes | 812 | 701 |
| Pass completion % | 72% | 75% |
| Crossing | ||
| Crosses | 125 | 140 |
| Cross completion % | 28% | 25% |
| Defending | ||
| Goals conceded | 8 | 12 |
| Goals conceded-per-game | 1.33 | 2.00 |
| Tackles | 175 | 175 |
| Tackles won % | 69% | 73% |
| Discipline | ||
| Fouls | 84 | 124 |
| Yellow cards | 14 | 17 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
