No Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski this weekend for Tottenham. Two players who Man City have historically struggled against. Here's how the last 5 games have gone.
Tottenham 0-1 Man City (Premier League)
After finding it difficult at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for many earlier games, City continued better recent form there. Erling Haaland, just recently back from injury, scored an early goal. Having already been a threat, Haaland converted a Jeremy Doku pass from close range to give City the lead. Tottenham struggled to deal with Doku and Savinho on the wings and needed Vicario to make some good saves, but improved in the second half.
Odobert came close, and we did see a great late chance fall for Son, who had his shot saved. That gave Tottenham hope, but there were no more goals to come, Haaland even had a late finish ruled out for a handball. There was time, though, for Pape Matar Sarr to head over what should have been an equalizer.
Man City 0-4 Tottenham (Premier League)
If ever there was a game that shows Angeball at its finest, this was it. Ange's tactics did not always work, of course, and opposition teams did seem to figure them out quickly, but when they worked like this, it was wonderful to watch. Spurs went into this game without Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven, two players who it was thought would be needed to have any chance. City were on a terrible run of form, and it wasn't long before they were struggling again.
James Maddison scored twice in the first half, once from a perfect Dejan Kulusevski cross and another from a Son through ball. The expected City avalanche in the second half didn't happen. Instead, Porro scored a third after another Kulusevski drive. Brennan Johnson added a fourth in injury time. Timo Werner provided the cross to leave the stadium in shock, showing great pace to go straight past Kyle Walker.
Tottenham 2-1 Man City (League Cup)
Timo Werner and Dejan Kulusevski combined for Werner to score to give Spurs the perfect start. Werner could have scored again before Pape Matar Sarr curled in a brilliant effort from outside the box. Sarr hit the ball first time, passing it into the net, and after 25 minutes, Spurs were two up. Since then, City came back into the game, led by Phil Foden and Matheus Nunes.
Nunes it was who scored just before half time to reduce the lead to 2-1. Both teams had chances in the second half in what was an open game. Werner and Savinho looking threats on the wings for each side. Werner and Richarlison both missed opportunities when through on goal. City pressed but a late goal-line block by Yves Bissouma was enough to give Spurs the win.
Tottenham 0-2 Man City (Premier League)
One of the strangest recent games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Many Spurs fans came into it not particularly wanting to win, given City dropping points would boost Arsenal's title chances. Ange Postecoglou did not seem impressed with this talk before the game, but its difficult to see how this should have been a surprise.
In any case, the awkward situation of Spurs helping Arsenal did not materialize. Haaland scored twice as City won fairly comfortably. There were chances for Kulusevski and Son, but City's win put them on their way to the title.
Tottenham 0-1 Man City (FA Cup)
Tottenham vs Man City in the FA Cup will always make me think of Ricky Villa and his (best ever) FA Cup final goal. This game, however, was not as memorable. City had some chances, Spurs did not, and it was a game that never really got going.
Fittingly, the winning goal was a scrappy one, too. Nathan Ake scored late from a corner with Spurs feeling it should have been ruled out for a foul on Vicario. It was the first goal City had scored at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and was enough to send them through.