Tottenham Take Top Four Revival to the Etihad

With three straight losses and Premier League top four ticket fast slipping, Tottenham Hotspur would be hoping to revive their Champions League qualification with a visit to league leaders, Manchester City at the Etihad. Spurs would be spurred by the fact that they inflicted the Citizens their first league defeat of the season and have defeated the champions in three of their last four games. The Lily White would therefore be craving for a repeat of the first leg result in today’s encounter

Manchester City will be looking to further strengthen their grip on first spot in the Premier League table when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium this evening.

The Citizens are currently nine points clear of second-placed Liverpool at the summit, while Tottenham occupy eighth position, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
Man City all but secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a stunning performance away to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday evening, running out 5-0 winners in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

The Citizens are also chasing FA Cup success this term, preparing to travel to Peterborough United in the fifth round of the competition at the start of March, while they are in a strong position to retain the Premier League title, sitting top of the pile with 63 points from 25 matches.

Pep Guardiola’s side are nine points ahead of second-placed Liverpool, but the Reds do have a game in hand, so the Manchester outfit cannot afford to take their eye off the ball and will be fired up to collect all three points against Antonio Conte’s team today.
Man City are unbeaten in the league since the end of October, winning 14 of their last 15 matches, which is a staggering run of form at this level of football, and they have been defensively excellent for much of the campaign, conceding just 14 times, which is the best record in the division.

The English champions lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the reverse match in North London earlier this season, but they have the best home record in England’s top flight this term, picking up 31 points from 12 matches, recording victories in 10 of their 12 matches at the Etihad Stadium.
Tottenham will be the underdogs heading into this weekend’s contest, but the capital side have won three of their last four Premier League matches against Man City, with each of the victories coming in London.

Spurs have not overcome the Citizens in Manchester since February 2016, and they will enter this match off the back of defeats in their last three Premier League games, losing at Chelsea on January 23 before home reverses to Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Antonio Conte’s side currently sit eighth in the table, seven points behind fourth-placed Man United, but they have three games in hand on the Red Devils, so a top-four finish is certainly still achievable, even if their recent form has been disappointing.
Tottenham have scored just 28 Premier League goals this season, though, with Harry Kane, who was denied a big-money switch to the Etihad Stadium last summer, finding the back of the net on just five occasions.

Recent comments from Conte will not have helped improve the mood at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and there is certainly a possibility that the Italian could walk away from the club in the coming months, particularly if their form does not improve, but a positive result this weekend could be a springboard.

Fresh from being crowned champions of the world for the first time in their history, Chelsea return to Premier League action with a London derby against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park today.
The match will be Chelsea’s first league outing in almost a month, but they take on a Palace side still winless in the top flight so far this calendar year.

Kai Havertz-scorer of the winner in the Champions League final last season – secured another trophy for the club with a penalty late in extra time of their final against Palmeiras last Saturday, wrapping up a 2-1 win.
That is now two pieces of silverware for the Blues this term, and there could still be three more to come with an EFL Cup final against Liverpool at the end of this month, a Champions League last-16 tie with Lille and the Premier League still mathematically within their reach.

At the very least, the Club World Cup success should give an injection of momentum into the latter bid, although it may be too little too late with Chelsea now 16 points adrift of leaders Manchester City, albeit with a game in hand.
The faltering form of those behind them means that Chelsea remain fairly comfortable in third place – six points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand – despite the Blues failing to win back-to-back league games since October.

Tuchel’s men have a chance to do just that today courtesy of their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in their last Premier League match on January 23, since when they needed extra time to see off League One Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup before going on to win the Club World Cup.
That triumph over Tottenham was their first in five league games and only their third in 10 since December 1 – a run which includes defeat to West Ham in their last away London derby.

Having won their previous seven such matches before that, Chelsea now face the prospect of losing back-to-back top-flight London derbies on the road for the first time since December 2017, when incidentally they were beaten by Palace and West Ham in succession.
The Eagles have only won one of their last 16 Premier League London derbies, though, and they head into today’s match in growing need of victory.

Patrick Vieira’s side have slipped down to 13th in the table having taken just three points from the 15 on offer so far this calendar year.
Nine points still separate them from the relegation zone and so Palace will not be looking nervously over their shoulders just yet, but the improving form of many of those behind them has marginally increased the urgency to find a return to winning ways.

Back-to-back draws against promoted duo Norwich City and Brentford – both of whom are below them in the table – would not have raised too much hope that they could push for a top-half finish, although today’s showdown with Chelsea may hold cause for more optimism.

Two of Palace’s five wins this season have come against teams starting the day in the top four, with Vieira’s men having already toppled Tottenham and Man City this season.
Another victory today would see them win three games against top-four teams in a single top-flight campaign for the first time ever, although they go into the weekend having lost both Premier League home games so far this year.