Manchester City will be looking to keep up the pressure on their Premier League title rivals this weekend as Pep Guardiola’s side host an injury-hit Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.
City’s perfect home start to the Premier League season was ended by a 1-1 draw with Liverpool last time out but the defending champions remain unbeaten in Manchester across all competitions in 2023/24.After confirming themselves as Champions League Group G winners in midweek, City can now focus solely on the Premier League in the weeks ahead, with their spot in the Round of 16 assured in Europe.Ange Postecoglou’s team saw their surprise title hopes take a hit in November, with three successive Premier League losses, and the Australian coach is still missing a host of key players from his squad.
For City, there are question marks over whether Guardiola could rotate following their midweek match with RB Leipzig and bring John Stones back into the team.
Man City vs Tottenham lineups
Guardiola is still without club captain Kevin De Bruyne through injury with the Belgium international not due back in action until 2024.
However, the hosts can rotate ahead of this clash, with Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez in line to return as part of Guardiola’s plan to keep his squad fresh. There are still question marks over whether John Stones will be deemed fit enough to play.
Postecoglou’s injury list is now into double figures at Spurs and Rodrigo Bentancur is the latest name on the absentee list as the visitors continue to battle a growing crisis.
Below are the projected starting lineups for both teams ahead of their Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium on December 3.
Man City starting 11
Man City starting lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Dias, Gvardiol — Rodri, Akanji— Foden, Silva, Alvarez, Doku — Haaland.
Injured: De Bruyne, Kovacic (doubtful), Nunes (doubtful), Stones (doubtful)Suspended: NoneMateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes could be named on the bench for Guardiola as he looks increase his options ahead of a busy period of matches. It’s also likely that Stones will be kept as a substitute while he rebuilds maximum fitness following a long layoff.
Tottenham starting 11
Tottenham starting lineup (4-3-3): Vicario (GK) — Porro, Royal, Davies, Udogie — Lo Celso, Hojbjerg, Bissouma — Kulusevski, Son, Johnson.
Injured: Perisic, Bentancur, Van de Ven, Maddison, Sessegnon, Solomon, Richarlison, Whiteman, Sarr (doubtful).Suspended: RomeroPostecoglou’s options are severely impacted by the injury picture at Spurs right now, although he at least has Yves Bissouma returning from suspension. Eric Dier was overlooked for Emerson Royal against Villa and there is no guarantee he will earn a starting spot this time.