Are we on the road to greater things now?

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

Wembley, Saturday 14th April 2018 7.45 pm.

Spurs, by winning tomorrow night will show that, under Pochettino, they have finally arrived in the Premier League with determination, resolve and a commitment to, not only challenge for top honours, but to make the top four their home for many years to come (if not permanently).

When joining the Premier League, we were regarded as one of the top-five clubs (Arsenal, United, Liverpool and Everton were the others). Since then only ourselves and Everton have fallen by the wayside, but Arsenal, United and Liverpool have been joined by Chelsea and City. With a new stadium near completion and finally challenging for top honours, we can include ourselves as one of six clubs that are capable of great things ahead.

This season Chelsea and Arsenal, of that top six group, are struggling and currently occupy the top fifth and sixth position respectively. How the season will end and in what position is anybody’s guess. What is for certain is that City will win the league, either tomorrow night or their next game after that. United, Liverpool and us will have to battle it out for the next three positions.

So, that is the scene set, so let us move on to Manchester City. Last Saturday they face their neighbours and rivals Manchester United in a match where they hoped to be crowned Premier League winners for the season 2017/18. But the script didn’t go to plan. Two-nil up in the first half, they collapsed in the second and finally walked away, on their home ground, 3-2 losers. They’vee had to postpone their Title celebrations for another day. Their second bite at the cherry will be against us at our Temporary home at Wembley.

City was cruising through the season until the 14th January 2018, a Sunday, Liverpool surprised them by being the first League club to beat them this season. They won 4-3 (in September City had beaten Liverpool 5-0). This put the shakes up the blues.

In the Champions league, they met Liverpool again, in a match they were expected to win but lost – away – 2-1. Seven days later it was back to the league and the United disaster. They then had to get up, wipe themselves down and face Liverpool again in the return leg, at home,  of the Champions League. Liverpool knocked them out 5-1 on aggregate.

Even though their season won’t end in a total disaster, we have seen them knocked out of the League Cup by lowly Wigan and Liverpool in the Champions League. They will win the Premier League, but the question this time will be when… and they are hoping to do it tomorrow night. We have to postpone their wishes until a week later when they face Swansea City on their home ground.

I believe we can do it and do it impressively. Granted we lost badly when we face them in December. But since then we are undefeated in the league and on an excellent run.

So; a clash of the giants? We could conceivably end the season in second place and FA Cup winners. Tomorrow night is the night and all I can say is COYS! We can do it and we shall do it.

Tomorrow’s team news.

Danny Rose will miss Saturday's game because of a calf injury. Harry Winks is also out injured.

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho begins a two-game ban after accumulating 10 yellow cards. Their top scorer Sergio Aguero will miss the game through injury, while defender John Stones is also unavailable.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

Manchester City have lost their last two games away to Tottenham, conceding six goals and scoring just once, although both of those matches were at White Hart Lane rather than Wembley.

City beat Spurs 4-1 in December but that is their only win in their last five league games against them (D1, L3).

Tottenham Hotspur

Since losing at the Etihad Stadium in December, Spurs are unbeaten in 14 league games (W11, D3). They last had a longer unbeaten run in the top flight in 1967 (20 games).

Victory would see Spurs become the eighth club to win 900 top-flight home matches.

Christian Eriksen has scored in three consecutive games in all competitions for Spurs for the first time, netting five goals in total.

Manchester City

City have lost back-to-back league games just once before under Pep Guardiola - against Chelsea and Leicester in December 2016.

They could win 28 top-flight matches in a single season for only the second time in their history - the previous occasion was marked by the famous 3-2 victory against QPR on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign.

City need 12 points from their remaining six games to set a new record for Premier League points. The highest total to date is Chelsea's tally of 95 in 2004-05.

Guardiola's side have already won away to Chelsea and Arsenal this season. Only three clubs have claimed Premier League wins away to Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs in the same season - Coventry in 1993-94, Charlton in 2001-02 and Blackburn in 2002-03.

City could lose four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since a similar run from April to August 2006.

Sergio Aguero, who has 199 goals for City, has scored 10 Premier League goals against Spurs, but he has not netted in his last five games against them.

Yours Truly,

Don Scully