Manchester City-Tottenham Hotspur Preview

Pep Guardiola has called Tottenham a "tough place to go" ahead of his Manchester City's visit there on Sunday.

Guardiola's men have lost their last three Premier League games away at Spurs, last picking up three points there in the 2018-19 campaign.

While City ran out 4-2 victors over Spurs at the Etihad Stadium on January 19, Guardiola is expecting a much tougher test on Sunday.

When asked about City's poor record at Tottenham, Guardiola replied: "They were better than us (in those games).

"They don't give you anything, before, now with (Antonio) Conte, they are a tough opponent. (It is) a tough place to go."

It is unclear whether Conte will be present at Sunday's game, after undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder on Wednesday.

Assistant Cristian Stellini did not rule out Conte being at the match, saying: "We don't know yet when Antonio is coming back.

"Everything is possible. The surgery was good, he is recovering well. At the moment he is at home. We have two days for the game and everything can happen."

Spurs won 1-0 away at Fulham last time out in the league, and a deadline day acquisition of Pedro Porro from Sporting CP has given fans of a repeat of their top-four finish last season.

Stellini feels Porro could start against City, explaining: "He is young but he has great experience. He plays in a similar system we play and he is available. We can use him in two days.

"We have another training session, he can improve but he is a great player, he's good technically and we were impressed by his performance against us."

Tottenham - Son Heung-min

It has not been Son's best season since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, but he did score twice in Spurs' 3-0 win at Preston North End in the FA Cup. Can he get on the scoresheet again here?

Manchester City - Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez has been involved in more Premier League goals against Spurs than he has any other opponent (11 - seven goals, four assists), with the Algeria international having a hand in three of the Citizens' goals in their 4-2 win in January. He will hope to terrorise the Tottenham backline again.

- City have lost their last three away league games against Tottenham by an aggregate score of 5-0. Only twice in the Premier League have they lost four in a row without scoring away against an opponent - against Chelsea between 2006 and 2009, and Sunderland between 2010 and 2013.

- Tottenham have lost four of their last five Premier League home games (won one), the first time they have lost as many in a five-game spell since August-November 2014 (also four out of five). They have lost their last two at home, last losing three in a row in September 2008.

- City have lost two of their last five Premier League away games (three wins), as many as in their previous 37 on the road. They last lost back-to-back away league games in May/August 2021, the second of which was at Tottenham.

- City manager Guardiola has lost all four of his visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions - it is the away ground he has managed at the most without ever winning in his managerial career.

- Harry Kane has scored 199 Premier League goals in 303 games, and would be the third player to reach 200 after Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). A goal in this game would see him reach the milestone in fewer games than the other two (Shearer 306, Rooney 462).

Updated February 3, 2023