(Football news) The Lilywhites will be looking to bounce back following a loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday, whilst Manchester City are striving to build on a narrow win over struggling Southampton a day earlier
Following back-to-back wins in North London over West Ham United and AZ Alkmaar since the return of club football after the international break, Tottenham’s early-season inconsistency reared its ugly head once again on Sunday afternoon, when the Lilywhites handed Crystal Palace their maiden win of the campaign.
The visitors to Selhurst Park did little to deserve anything tangible from their trip across the capital, with an unforgivable chunk of lazy build-up from the back allowing towering striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to net his third goal of the league campaign, securing maximum points for the Eagles.
After their fifth-placed finish and subsequent Europa League qualification during Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the club, another push for Champions League football is the remit for Tottenham in 2024-25, but Wednesday’s hosts are currently occupying eighth spot in the Premier League standings.
Despite facing English and European powerhouses Manchester City in a last-16 tie, this competition arguably represents the best chance for Spurs to lift their first piece of major silverware since the EFL Cup final triumph of 2008, when goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Jonathan Woodgate sealed a 2-1 success over Chelsea at the Wembley final.
Postecoglou’s troops were two minutes away from an embarrassing third-round exit last month at the home of Championship outfit Coventry City, but last-gasp strikes from right-back Djed Spence and winger Brennan Johnson spared the blushes of a much-changed Spurs starting XI.
Since the 1-1 draw at St James’ Park on September 28, Manchester City have enjoyed a flawless October schedule, winning five straight contests across the Premier League and Champions League, including a one-goal success over relegation-threatened Southampton at the Etihad on the weekend.
Finding the net for the 11th time in the Premier League on his ninth appearance in 2024-25, Erling Haaland must have thought he had opened the floodgates on the blue side of Manchester after breaching the goal of Aaron Ramsdale in the fifth minute, although the Citizens were forced to settle for a narrow victory over the Saints.
After back-to-back wins and clean sheets at the Etihad over the past week, Pep Guardiola’s troops now face a daunting four-match away run in the space of 11 days prior to November’s international break, meaning that the Premier League champions’ close-knit squad will be pushed to the limit.
Wednesday’s visitors to North London have loosened their chokehold on this competition in recent times following a period of domination during the late 2010s and early 2020s, with the Citizens exiting the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage or earlier in two of the last three seasons.
Manchester City have already bettered their third-round exit of the 2023-24 campaign at the hands of Newcastle by squeezing past second-tier side Watford at the Etihad last month, with first-half goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes rendering Tom Ince’s late strike a mere consolation for Tom Cleverley’s Hornets.
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