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One of the standout ties of the FA Cup fourth round has thrown up an all-Premier League clash as Spurs welcome Man City to North London. This match kicks off at 8pm UK
Spurs
Spurs deservedly booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup by edging past Burnley in North London. Ange Postecoglu made a handful of changes, yet owing to the amount of injuries and absences within his squad, he was unable to make wholesale alterations. Pedro Porro’s late strike proved to be the difference and they have been rewarded with yet another all-Premier League tie.
Match has ended
Spurs are still missing several players including Son, who is away at the Asian Cup. Nevertheless, James Maddison is closing in on a return and has reportedly targetted this game for his comeback. Manor Soloman may also be fit enough to feature in some capacity whilst defensive duo Cristian Romero and Mickey Van der Ven returned to the fold last weekend.
The hosts have enjoyed a whole week on the training ground following the PL’s mid-season break and they will be raring to go ahead of this Friday night fixture. They reached the fifth round of the competition last season, although they did enjoy a much easier run which included facing two EFL sides.
Although they eventually exited on penalties to Norwich in 2020, Spurs haven’t lost a home FA Cup tie in 90 minutes since February 2016 when they crashed out to Crystal Palace. Although the level of opposition has been generally lower, they have beaten Brighton, Southampton and Aston Villa during this impressive sequence.
Man City
Man City enjoyed a ridiculously easy passage to the fourth round of the competition as they cruised past Championship outfit Huddersfield. It may have taken Pep’s men 33 minutes to break through, however, they were ruthless for the remaining 60 and could easily have added another goal or two. Although they will go off as favourites, the Citizens are unlikely to get such an easy ride on Friday evening.
Erling Haaland has spent six weeks on the sidelines and although he is likely to make his return over the coming weeks, he is unlikely to be risked in this one. Nevertheless, the visitors still have an impressive supporting cast which includes the recent returned and re-energised Kevin de Bruyne.
Since returning from the Club World Cup, City have looked focused and sharp. Although they still have a huge challenge ahead of them if they are to wrestle Liverpool off top spot, they have looked up for the fight and their comeback victory against Newcastle display their title credentials.
Last season’s FA Cup winners didn’t have the easiest run to the final last year and did beat both Arsenal and Chelsea en-route to Wembley. However, only one of their six games in this competition last season came on the road and that was against mid-table Championship outfit Bristol City.
Man City don’t tend to enjoy visiting this stadium and they are yet to score at this impressive arena. The last time that City notched in an away game vs Spurs, it came at Wembley.
Head to Head
As we’ve just mentioned, this is far from a happy hunting ground for the visitors in recent seasons. City have drawn a blank in each of their last four Premier League visits and they also failed to register when they met in the UCL.
These two sides playing out a highly entertaining 3-3 draw when they met earlier this season with Dejan Kulesevski rescuing a point in the 90th minute for Spurs.
The prevailing pattern of head-to-head contests between these sides tends to be end-to-end contests at the Etihad following by tight affairs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
These two sides have met in the League Cup twice across the last decade and they’ve also faced one another in the Champions League, however, they’ve seldom crossed paths in the FA Cup.
Key Betting Stats
- Manchester City conceded just a single goal in last season’s FA Cup and that came in the final against Manchester United.
- City have won eight of their last ten FA Cup ties away from the Etihad. The two defeats have come against Arsenal and Chelsea and they failed to score in either of those matches.
- Four of Spurs’ last five FA Cup ties have featured one goal or fewer.
- Spurs have kept just two home clean sheets so far this season and one of them came back in mid-August.
- Spurs have lost the corner count in five of their last six matches whereas City have won it in each of the last four. There were 18 corners when these sides met at the beginning of December.
Match Prediction
This match will be decided by each manager’s willingness to rest and rotate. City have plenty of strength in depth, but they do tend to struggle at this venue. Spurs have key players returning and that might just push them towards the fifth round.
Winning Combo
Spurs to Qualify
10/3 with Bet365
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