With their head man now locked in for at least another full season, Man City will put their heads down and charge into the meat of the Premier League season as they return from the international break to host Tottenham on Saturday.
Man City have sputtered through the first 11 games of the campaign, sitting second in the table but staring at a five-point gap between themselves and leaders Liverpool. Even their victories have looked like a struggle as they cope with the season-long injury to Ballon d'Or winner Rodri.
A matchup with Tottenham out of the international break would provide a decent litmus test for their chances of pushing Liverpool for the title.
The stakes are, however, quite high for the hosts, as Pep Guardiola is amid the first four-match losing streak in his entire managerial career, and five straight defeats would be quite the splash of cold water after signing his recent contract extension.
10th-placed Spurs have had a super inconsistent start to the season themselves, at times looking revitalized under Ange Postecoglou and others appearing to have not improved at all. In their last month alone, Spurs knocked City out of the EFL Cup and blasted Aston Villa, but also lost to both Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town.
MORE: Full team news & lineups for Man City vs. Tottenham
Man City vs. Tottenham prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Man City (-275 on BetMGM)
- Score prediction: Man City 3-1 Tottenham
Spurs managed to knock Man City out of the EFL Cup at the end of last month, but it didn't appear that Pep Guardiola had any interest in giving that competition his full attention. Here, he'll likely deploy a much more powerful lineup within reason given the international break just ended.
Tottenham have not faced an opponent like this since their 1-0 North London derby defeat back in mid-September, and are not yet at the point where they can get results consistently.
MORE: A complete guide to betting on soccer in the United States
| BetMGM (USA) | |
| Man City win | -275 |
| Draw | +450 |
| Tottenham win | +626 |
| Both teams to score | Y: -225 N: +150 |
| Over / Under 3.5 goals | O: -145 U: +105 |
| Man City -1.5 goals | -120 |
| Tottenham +1.5 goals | -120 |
Man City vs. Tottenham match facts
- Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
- Kickoff Time: 5:30 p.m. local (12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT)
- Location: Etihad Stadium (Manchester, England)
- Referee: John Brooks, VAR: Michael Salisbury
- Last meeting: Tottenham 2-1 Man City (Oct. 30, 2024 | EFL Cup)
MORE: All the latest Man City news | Tottenham news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Man City vs. Tottenham best bet
- Pick: Man City 20+ total shots
- Odds: -110 on FanDuel
This matchup features an intriguing statistical disparity — Man City and Tottenham are the Premier League's leading shot-takers and are also the two sides who have conceded the fewest shots to opponents. Yet there's reason to believe City can rack up a high total.
Even as Man City appeared toothless for stretches this season, they still managed to accumulate a high total of efforts on the opposition's net. They have breached the 20-shot mark five times already this season in Premier League play, including a massive 33-shot total against Arsenal while up a man for the second half — and that's largely without Kevin de Bruyne, who could potentially return in this game.
Tottenham, meanwhile, haven't played many of the league's highest shot-takers yet, including Fulham and Bournemouth, and conceded 15 shots to a second-choice Man City lineup in their EFL Cup win. The totals are massively inflated for this game, but it's still worth a play while we have yet to see if Man City are really going to struggle with the end product for the entire season.
Man City vs. Tottenham prop bet
- Pick: Erling Haaland first goal scorer
- Odds: +220 (BetMGM)
The Man City talisman has looked stuck in the mud over the past month or so, but he's still owned the first stage of games. While we don't often get suckered into taking fluky picks like first goal scorer, a prolific player like Haaland can sometimes present a rare opportunity.
Erling Haaland has scored in seven Premier League matches so far this season. Incredibly, in all seven of those matches, he has found the net in the opening 20 minutes, and in six of them, it marked the game's first goal (only Yoan Wissa's first-minute goal for Brentford ruined the perfect record). Even in the games he didn't score, he presented an early threat, such as against Fulham when all four of his shots came in the first 15 minutes, or against Newcastle when he saw a shot saved seven minutes in.
After scoring four goals over the international break (including a 23rd-minute strike against Kazakhstan that, yes, was the first of the match and began his hat-trick), he appears ready to take renewed form back to the club level and press on with the heart of the Premier League season.
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