Match for the 2nd round of the Premier League, at Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City.
Facts
- Manchester City has failed to win their last two home games against Spurs. They drew 3-3 in 2023/2024 and suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat in 2024/2025.
- In the ten Etihad Stadium games between these two with Pep Guardiola at the helm, there have been 45 goals scored.
- Spurs manager Thomas Frank has failed to defeat City in his last four games against them, sporting an all-time 2-1-5 record in his past role as Brentford manager.
Betting Tip: Manchester City – Tottenham
Both Manchester City and Tottenham started the season in a very convincing manner and appear capable of very good football. This match is shaping up to be a highly contested one, especially so early in the season. With that in mind, and considering the attacking prowess of both teams, we expect a lot of goals.
- Recommendation: Over 3,5 goals
- Odds: 2.10 (at the time of writing)
Manchester City
City started the season on a roll with a dominant 4-0 win away at Wolves. Despite taking the first half hour to get going, City took control of the game and essentially put the game out of reach within a span of four minutes, with Haaland and Reinders scoring.
They kept up the pace in the second and added two more, another from Haaland and another from newcomer Cherki off the bench.
Pep Guardiola was understandably very satisfied at the final whistle. His team looked very much like the team dominating English football until 2024. They showed enthusiasm, intensity, and efficiency, limiting their opponent to a passive role. Haaland was back to his clinical self but the real MVP of the game was newcomer Reijnders, scoring one and creating another.
Just as importantly, the Cityzens have avoided serious injuries so far. Mainstays such as Rodri (central midfielder), Foden (attacking midfielder), Kovacic (central midfielder), Gvardiol (defender), and Ederson (goalkeeper) were missing from the opening, but the first two are expected to return soon.
Tottenham
Spurs’ first game of the season ended with a comfortable 3-0 win over Burnley. They were the better team for the duration of the game, and two exquisite goals by Richarlison paved the way for a convincing win, with Brennan Johnson adding another goal closer to the end.
This convincing win helped quiet the voices complaining about the rather limited transfer activity up to this point. It helped mask the failure of blowing a late two-goal lead and the penalty shootout in the UEFA Super Cup loss to PSG. The team is playing good football in the attack, and that inspires confidence.
At the same time, the Spurs managed to maintain most of their top players in this transfer window and have sought further additions. New captain Romero (central defender) renewed his contract until 2029, and the team was in negotiations with Crystal Palace over the transfer of the brilliant Eberechi Eze (attacking midfielder).
The latter would go a long way towards covering Maddison’s (attacking midfielder) serious injury. However, the latest rumours indicate that Eze will be joining the arch-rival Arsenal instead. There are also rumours about Manchester City’s Savinho (winger) joining the team.
