Tottenham Hotspur vs Man City preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Tottenham Hotspur will aim for their first back-to-back wins over Manchester City when the defending champions head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 26th.

It’s not going to plan in the white side of North London. Out of the FA Cup, out of the Carabao Cup, out of the top four, and the only chance of silverware this season is the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou now faces a stern test of fulfilling his trophy-laden second-season success in the Europa League, which would be Tottenham’s only hope of returning to European football next season. However, their current season form makes it unrealistic to achieve that dream.

The victory over Brentford on matchweek 24 ended a run of seven league matches without a win, during which they suffered six defeats. It also marked their first triumph since the 5-0 demolition of Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on December 15.

Performances under Postecoglou may not have consistently met expectations, but from a neutral perspective, his matches have been full of entertainment. His 62 Premier League games have averaged 3.6 goals per match—the highest among managers with at least 50 top-flight fixtures (120 scored, 98 conceded). The fastest any manager has reached 100 goals both for and against was 65 matches, a record previously set by former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi.

It’s no surprise they’ve netted 48 goals—the third most in the league—trailing only Liverpool (56) and Arsenal (49) at the time of writing.

As some Spurs fans might have feared, a 1-0 first-leg victory over Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-finals proved insufficient, as Postecoglou’s hopes of delivering silverware in his second season suffered another major setback at Anfield in midweek.

Cody Gakpo’s opener, Mohamed Salah’s penalty, Dominik Szoboszlai’s composed finish, and Virgil van Dijk’s header completed a ruthless Liverpool comeback, sealing their place in the EFL Cup final at Spurs’ expense.

Fans with Tottenham tickets were handed another harsh reality check when Spurs were dumped out of the FA Cup – losing 2-1 away to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

On an optimistic note, they’ll be gearing up to face a City side that have become one of their favourite opponents in recent years.

Pep Guardiola has already lost the two games his side has played against Spurs this season, including a humiliating 4-0 loss, his heaviest defeat since losing by the same scoreline in April 2014 against Real Madrid.

The Spanish manager will hope to avoid another defeat to Spurs, as a loss would mean he has now lost ten games against them, the most he has lost against a team in his managerial career.

On a positive note for the Premier League defending champions, they’re in much better form than Spurs. Although the 5-1 humiliating loss to Arsenal exposed their profligacy, particularly in defence, they’ve addressed the different positions that needed reinforcement. I’m the winter transfer window.

They had started to build momentum after enduring a difficult spell from October to December last year. While the 2-2 draw against Brentford—where they surrendered a two-goal advantage—was a setback, it remained their only league match without a win in 2024 until their defeat to Arsenal.

The Cityzens have struggled against stronger opposition this season. Their only victories against top-eight sides came against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, having failed to secure wins over Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa—all of whom currently sit in the Premier League’s top eight.

Tottenham now sit at a distant 14th place in the Premier League table with 27 points this season, an indication of their struggles.

The game against City will either prove they’re back on track following a win against Brentford or further expose their inconsistencies this season if they end up on the losing side.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Man City match details

• Date: Wednesday, 26th February 2025
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• Kick-off time: 07:30 PM GMT
• Tickets: Supporters can purchase Tottenham vs Man City tickets at trusted online reseller Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Tottenham’s win over Brentford on matchweek 24 ended a run of six defeats in their last seven league games. It was also their first victory since a 5-0 thrashing of Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on December 15.

• Tottenham have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven Premier League games.

• City have scored in their last 13 matches across all competitions. The last time they failed to find the back of the net was in the 2-0 loss against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.

• The Cityzens have failed to win any of their four games against North London opponents this season. The 2-2 draw against Arsenal on 22nd September is the only point they’ve gotten against North London opponents, losing three.

• Guardiola’s side have conceded nine goals and scored only once in his last two games against North London opponents, five against Arsenal and four against Tottenham.

• Guardiola has lost more games (nine) against Tottenham than he has lost against any other team in his managerial career.

Team news

Tottenham’s forward, Richarlison, was forced off in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals after picking up a calf injury. The extent of the Brazilian’s injury is not certain at the time of writing, but there’s a slim chance he’ll be back in time to face City.

Summer signing Mathys Tel was handed his first start since joining the club and was on hand to halve the deficit in the FA Cup 2-1 loss to Aston Villa to mark his first goal for the club.

The 19-year-old will hope to maintain a strong form in Tottenham’s next games against Manchester United and Ipswich Town to be considered for a starting berth against City.

Richarlison has now joined an extensive list of injuries, which includes Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Radu Dragusin (knee), Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Dominic Solanke (knee), James Maddison (calf), Micky van de Ven (fitness), Destiny Udogie (hamstring), Cristian Romero (thigh), Timo Werner (thigh), and Brennan Johnson (calf), all unavailable for Sunday’s clash, as confirmed by Postecoglou.

Suffering a nightmare debut, Man City’s latest midfield recruit, Nico Gonzalez, was forced off injured in the first half of Saturday’s FA Cup victory, moments after being muscled off the ball before Leyton Orient’s bizarre opener.

Guardiola couldn’t immediately assess the severity of the Spaniard’s injury post-match, but he now joins Oscar Bobb (leg), Nathan Ake (muscle), Jeremy Doku (unspecified), and Ederson (unspecified) on the doubtful list, while Rodri (ACL) remains a long-term absentee.

Expected to return to the starting XI after netting the winner on Saturday, Kevin De Bruyne is eyeing a piece of Champions League history—his next goal or assist against Real Madrid would be his ninth in the competition, more than any other player.

Predicted starting lineup

Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup:

Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Tel, Son.

Man City predicted starting lineup:

Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland.

Prediction

Tottenham have struggled this season, and their league position sums up what has been a disappointing campaign so far.

At this point, a fight to avoid relegation could possibly be the club’s top agenda rather than a fight to secure a top-seven finish, which looks highly unrealistic.

A win against City would see Spurs win back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since September, where they won consecutive games against Brentford and Manchester United.

On the other hand, prestige is in place for City as they won’t only look to bounce back from their 5-1 defeat but also to avoid a third consecutive game in a row against Spurs.

We’re predicting a 3-1 win for City.