
Everything on... Manchester City
All you need to know about Pep Guardiola's men
Tue 16 April 2019, 18:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
It's the second part of the fascinating Spurs-Manchester City trilogy as we travel to the Etihad Stadium for the Champions League quarter-final, second leg on Wednesday night (8pm).
We take a 1-0 lead into the second leg thanks to Heung-Min Son's late strike and Hugo Lloris' penalty save from Sergio Aguero in the first leg last week.
Both teams enjoyed wins in the Premier League at the weekend and now we decide who progresses to a semi-final against either Ajax or Juventus, who play this evening.
Here's all you need to know about City...
Team news
Oleksandr Zinchenko is a doubt for City but otherwise Pep Guardiola has a fully-fit squad for the second leg. Fernandinho trained on Tuesday after missing City's 3-1 win at Palace on Sunday. Sergio Aguero is also expected to play after departing from that win 15 minutes from time.
“I think everyone is fit,” Guardiola said. “I don’t think Zinchenko will train today, the other ones came back yesterday and are recovering well. Fernandinho trained yesterday, low intensity, but he trained. Aguero is fit. He needs competition and needs a little time to get best condition."
City's form
We dented City's outstanding form in the first leg at the new stadium last week. Our 1-0 win represented a first defeat for Pep Guardiola's team since January. Before that, they'd won 13 of 14 matches in all competitions. They drew the other, and that was the Carabao Cup Final, which they then won on penalties against Chelsea. Following Sunday's 3-1 win at Palace, City have won 13 of their last 15 in all competitions as they still chase the 'quadruple' - Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
One to watch
After spending most of March sidelined, Kevin De Bruyne started three matches before the first leg but found himself on the bench as we ran out 1-0 winners at the new stadium last week. Indeed, he only entered the fray late on with Leroy Sane. Back in the line-up for Sunday's win at Palace, the Belgian star is expected to start the second leg. Injuries have restricted De Bruyne to 28 appearances in all competitions this season but when he's on song, he's one of the most creative players on the planet.
Last five meetings
9 April, 2019 - Spurs 1-0 Manchester City - Champions League QF, 1st leg
29 October, 2019 - Spurs 0-1 Manchester City - Premier League
14 April, 2018 – Spurs 1-3 Manchester City – Premier League
16 December, 2017 – Manchester City 4-1 Spurs – Premier League
21 January, 2017 – Manchester City 2-2 Spurs – Premier League
Previous clash
You only have to turn the clock back to last week for our previous meeting and a 1-0 victory in the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final tie. A gripping contest was decided by two key moments. First, Danny Rose was judged by VAR to have handled Raheem Sterling's shot and City were awarded a penalty in the 12th minute. Sergio Aguero stepped up, Hugo Lloris read his take and palmed away to his left. Then, with 12 minutes remaining, the winner. Heung-Min Son kept in Christian Eriksen's pass, cut inside Fabian Delph and rifled home with his left foot, sparking elation in our new stadium.
Magic moment
We once enjoyed a run of 12 wins in 13 matches in all competitions against City. It started in December, 2004 with a 1-0 victory in the Premier League (Fredi Kanoute on target) and ended with arguably our most famous - and arguably, our most important - win in the Premier League. That was on 5 May, 2010 and the night we qualified for the Champions League for the first time with a 1-0 win at the Etihad securing fourth place. Peter Crouch nodded home the late winner that led to incredible scenes in the away end. A few months later, we overcame Young Boys of Switzerland in the play-off to take our place in the Champions League 'proper' for the first time - a return of the 'glory, glory' European nights at the Lane would soon follow.
Played for both
One of the great goalscorers of his era, Clive Allen still holds the record of most goals for Spurs in a single season with his incredible total of 49 in all competitions in 1986/87. He rightly took the PFA Player of the Year/Football Writers Player of the Year double for his exploits as we finished third in the league, reached the FA Cup Final - Clive's opener in the final against Coventry was his 49th of the campaign - and the semi-finals of the League Cup. Signed from QPR in August, 1984, Clive went on to score 84 goals in 135 appearances for us before departing for a new challenge in France with Bordeaux in 1988. Capped five times by England, Clive later spent two years at City (1989-1991) on his return from Ligue 1. Clive scored 181 goals in 388 career appearances before returning to the Club as coach in 2003. Now 57, Clive remains a popular member of our legends' hospitality team on matchdays and a regular pundit on TV and radio.
What they're saying...
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola didn't hold back on the importance of our next two matches against City at the Etihad as his side continue their quest for the 'quadruple'.
First up it's the Champions League quarter-final, second leg tomorrow night (8pm) as we hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg. Then it's back to Manchester for a crucial Premier League game on Saturday (12.30pm) - vital for both teams as we try to secure a place in the top four and City continue to battle it out with Liverpool for the title - they are now two points adrift of the Reds with a game in hand.
"Definitely, if we don’t win these games, we lose the titles," stated Guardiola. "This season we had an incredible opponent in Liverpool. Usually 84, 85 (points) is enough to win the title. We both deserve it but only one can get it.
"We will put our heart on the pitch tomorrow - our desire - and after we will see."








