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Arsenal will be praying for a huge favour in the Premier League title race from north London rivals Tottenham when they host Manchester City on Tuesday.
It is by no means a foregone conclusion for a Man City victory, however, as Tottenham have won each of their last four Premier League home games against Guardiola’s side without conceding a single goal.
Spurs were also 2-1 winners over Burnley on Saturday, relegating the Clarets in their first season back in the top flight after Micky van de Ven’s late curler snatched a much-needed home win. Pedro Porro had earlier cancelled out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s opener.
Ange Postecoglou’s team are fifth in the league table and trail Aston Villa by five points following the Villan’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Liverpool on Monday night. Spurs still have a chance of UEFA Champions League qualification, but anything less than a win in this game versus City will mean Villa are confirmed in fourth place.
With Richarlison ruled out for the rest of the season, Son Heung-min will likely start through the middle once more with Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski on either flank. The Swedish winger has been directly involved in five goals in his four Premier League games against City, more than he has versus any other opponent in the competition (three goals, two assists).
Visiting goalkeeper Ederson will hope to keep that Spurs attacking trio at bay as he prepares for his 250th appearance for City in the competition. He’s kept 112 clean sheets so far, with Petr Cech (127) and Pepe Reina (119) the only goalkeepers to record more in their first 250 matches.
Foden scored in the reverse meeting with Spurs this term, as did Jack Grealish – who should return from illness for Tuesday. The only players to score home and away against Spurs in a Premier League season for the Citizens are Sergio Agüero (2013-14 and 2014-15), Ilkay Gündogan (2017-18), and Raheem Sterling (2017-18).
Guardiola will not care where the goals come from as long as City keep the title in their own control, having extended their current run to 21 Premier League games unbeaten with victory over Fulham (W17 D4). Only once have they ever had a longer run without defeat in the competition, going 30 matches between April 2017 and January 2018.
Yet City have not won their final away league game in their last three campaigns, having previously triumphed in nine of the 10 seasons between 2010-11 and 2019-20 (D1). That can perhaps be explained by the fact they had already won the title at the time of those two defeats – against Brighton in 2020-21 and Brentford last season.
