Fri 20 November 2020, 17:21
Tottenham HotspurThe Premier League is back - and what a game to get us going again, Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening (5.30pm). The Preview Panel is also back with former City and Spurs midfielder Michael Brown, Gerry Cox and Sam Lee, esteemed writers covering Spurs and City for Hayters Teamwork and The Athletic respectively.
Introducing the panel
Michael Brown - A tigerish midfielder, Michael came through the youth system to play for City between 1995-2000. He then shone at Sheffield United, leading to a move to Spurs in 2004. He spent 18 months with us before switching to Fulham, and had spells at Wigan, Pompey, Leeds and Port Vale before retiring at 40 with 650 career appearances under his belt. He’s now a busy broadcaster and pundit for Sky Sports, BBC Five Live, City TV and Quest. @michaelbrowny1
Gerry Cox - Sports writer and broadcaster, Gerry runs Hayters Teamwork, one of the leading sports reporting agencies in the UK and is a familiar face in the press box at N17 – he has been covering Spurs since 1987. @GerryCox
Sam Lee - Sam is the Manchester City correspondent for The Athletic. The 2020/21 campaign is his sixth following the club, having previously held other positions with Goal and the BBC, and freelancing in South America. @SamLee
Michael Brown
"These are two great football clubs and Spurs are in full flow coming up against what I would describe as an improving City side. There are great players on show, and this is a mega game. It’s all about the key players, and mistakes. If you make a mistake in this game, you’ll be punished. Both teams will want to make a positive start. Will Jose’s team come out firing, or will he be a bit more conservative against City? Spurs have controlled possession in games, can they play like that against City? I think this is the test that this Spurs team really needs. There is a lot of talk about them, and this is where they go out and show everyone what they can do. For City, they are expected to win every game they play. They are chasing at the moment and they won’t want to slip up. They will want to start right on the day as well. The Spurs squad is fantastic, I really believe they have a strong squad, and it all points to goals, goals, goals, but I don’t want to jinx it! It’s all set up for a fantastic match."
Sam Lee
"This is a tricky one to call. For two or three seasons under Pep Guardiola, I would have said, ‘City will win’, and even though that’s not always been the case against Spurs, my answer would have been the same regardless. Now, I really don’t know. Normally, you’d never be able to guess the line-up, but you could guess the result - that they’d win. Now, you could probably guess nine or 10 of the line-up, but you don’t know what’s going to happen on the day. City look defensively solid at the moment, but it might come down to whether or not they can take their chances. Kevin de Bruyne is still key, and still creates more chances than anyone else. One of the issues is they haven’t had a striker for most of the season. Gabriel Jesus should be back, and he brings a lot. His pressing is important, so he’s a big one for the team, but will he put the chances away? Will Raheem Sterling put the chances away? Ferran Torres has just scored a hat-trick for Spain against Germany, maybe he’ll bring something. He’s done alright at City. Fans are optimistic and he’s definitely shown flashes of what he can do. He’s played as a nine with Jesus and Sergio Aguero missing, and his runs off the ball have really stood out. He’s probably made more of an impact than Mane, Bernardo Silva and Mahrez did, if we’re comparing them."
Gerry Cox
"I can see it being quite cagey, cat and mouse, because you don't just go gung-ho against City. You have to say, Spurs have had a good couple of seasons by playing City on the back foot, picking up results at home and away. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was similar to the game in February, Steven Bergwijn’s brilliant goal on his debut. City have just announced a new contract for Pep Guardiola, and that’s a big deal for them, they will be on a high after that, but if Spurs are anywhere near full fitness, they are a match for anyone. For City, there are issues up front, Aguero’s had an injury, but then Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick for Spain against Germany this week! Phil Foden also showed what he can do for England. It might just come down to whether or not City can contain Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Gareth Bale. Then it's the midfield battle, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has looked superb, one of the signings of the season, and he's up against Rodri and Gundogan. Then, can the Spurs back line can keep out City? Spurs are strong, much stronger than they’ve been in the last couple of years. Hojbjerg has filled the void left by Moussa Dembele, Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguilon look good, there is now cover for Harry Kane, the signings from last summer are starting to come into their own, Tanguy Ndombele, transformed, Giovani Lo Celso, hopefully he’ll find the fitness to show what he can do every week. They are class acts. But for those dropped points against Newcastle and West Ham, they’d be clear at the top of the table. It’s clearly a much better team with a much better sense of purpose. It’s also worth mentioning Ray Clemence. I knew Ray really well. When I started covering Spurs, he’d just retired and started on the coaching staff. It was such sad news, but this is a chance to celebrate one of the greats. We will all spare a moment to think of Ray."
