Spurs - Man. City. vs. Spurs Match Preview

By Lev
December 16 2006

Ten home wins in a row and two losses in 17 games; the stats currently suggest that Tottenham Hotspur are finding wins easy to come by. However, a failure to win away in the Premiership is threatening to ruin their domestic season

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur – City of Manchester Stadium – 17th December – Kick Off 15:00

Ten home wins in a row and two losses in 17 games; the stats currently suggest that Tottenham Hotspur are finding wins easy to come by. However, a failure to win away in the Premiership is threatening to ruin their domestic season. After scraping what should have been a comfortable win against Middlesbrough, a demolition of Charlton and a walk in the park against Dinamo Bucharest, Spurs will be looking to transfer their home performances to their travels, starting in Manchester this weekend.

Tottenham should go into the game full of confidence after topping their UEFA Cup group and firing their way into the round of 32 with a 100% record in Europe. Martin Jol will be pleased with how his team have been performing of late, but will hope his side can finally get an away win under their belts. With the partnership of Dimitar Berbatov, a classy addition to the side, and Jermain Defoe starting to look a potent threat to most defences, Tottenham have a great chance of achieving this on Sunday. Defoe has scored 8 goals in his last 7 starts, staking his claim for a permanent starting spot while Robbie Keane is injured. Defoe and others have spoken of their burning desire for some silverware, but they must not overlook their bread and butter, the Premiership, where a top 6 finish is a must.

However, with the new faces of Steed Malbranque and Tom Huddlestone performing well in the last few games, Spurs will believe they have the ability to unlock what has been a mean Manchester City home defence so far this season. These two, along with Lennon and the aforementioned in-form strikers, have produced some of the best attacking football Tottenham have given their supporters in a number of years. If Spurs can start doing it away from White Hart Lane, it could be another great season.

Along with Keane, the only other Tottenham players that will definitely miss out are Jermaine Jenas through injury, and Didier Zokora, who is banned. Teemu Tainio is a doubt, as usual, but apart from this, Spurs look to have a number of options in most areas. Hossam Ghaly returns from a domestic suspension and looks the most likely to replace Zokora in the midfield, although a shuffle of positions may occur, with Malbranque possibly moving into the centre. In defence, Jol must make a decision of who to play at left back, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto playing well against the admittedly under-par Bucharest, while Young Pyo-Lee has proved his worth in the previous two Premiership games.

Ledley King and Michael Dawson should continue their ever-improving partnership at the back, while Pascal Chimbonda, debatably Tottenham’s best signing of the season, should have no trouble keeping the fit-again Paul Stalteri out of the side.

For City, there are a number of players looking likely to miss out. Ben Thatcher and Bernardo Corradi are both suspended, while Trevor Sinclair and Sun Jihai are still missing due to long-term injuries. New England right-back Micah Richards and Nicky Weaver both picked up dead legs in the Manchester derby last weekend, whilst Claudio Reyna has a tight hamstring and could also be left out of the squad.

Tottenham must see this as a prime opportunity to do what they have been unable to all season and win away. Once this mental obstacle is overcome, they could have a fantastic season all-round. 2-1 to the Spurs, says Lawro. I hope so.

COYS

Simon Levinson