Tottenham vs Manchester City: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are hoping they can conclude domestic duties in September on a high note at White Hart Lane this Saturday.

Ninth and first in the Premier League, respectively, both have been through a mixed preceding seven days.

Tottenham secured their second league win of the season at home to Crystal Palace but were unable to follow it up in Wednesday's Capital One Cup north London derby clash. Man City enjoyed a palate-cleansing 4-1 dismantling of Sunderland in the latter competition after suffering their first league defeat at West Ham United days earlier.

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

Despite losing to Arsenal, the competitive nature of their effort and their preceding form has Spurs optimistic about securing a first win over City since 2013.

"Manchester City are a big team, a strong team, but we know that we are strong at home with the support of our fans," Nacer Chadli told Tottenham's official website. "They always have a big side and of course they’ve bought well with some great players, but we have a strong group too and we know we can play good football so we will do our best."

Meanwhile, Man City defender Pablo Zabaleta believes Tuesday's defeat of the Black Cats has set them up nicely to make it five defeats of Spurs in a row.

"We had a couple of losses recently but we had a great reaction in midweek at Sunderland and now we go into a very difficult game at Tottenham but hopefully we can carry the momentum from Tuesday’s game and come away with a win," Zabaleta said to his club's website.

"Overall, it’s been a fairly good ground for us in recent seasons and we hope it proves to be the same again on Saturday."

Date: Saturday, September 26  

Time: 12:45 p.m. BST/7:45 a.m. ET         

Venue: White Hart Lane, London 

TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK only)/NBCSN (U.S. only)         

Live Stream: BT Sport app or online (UK only)/NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Form Lines

Tottenham Hotspur	Manchester City
Capital One Cup, September 23: Arsenal (H)—Loss: 1-2	Capital One Cup, September 22: Sunderland (A)—Win: 1-4
Premier League, September 20: Crystal Palace (H)—Win: 1-0	Premier League, September 19: West Ham United (H)—Loss: 1-2
Europa League, September 17: Qarabag FK (H)—Win: 3-1	Champions League, September 15: Juventus (H)—Loss: 1-2
Premier League, September 13: Sunderland (A)—Win: 0-1	Premier League, September 12: Crystal Palace (A)—Win: 0-1
Premier League, August 29: Everton (H)—Draw: 0-0	Premier League, August 29: Watford (H)—Win: 2-0

Team News

Tottenham will have to make do with depleted midfield options for another game this weekend.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele, Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard are all still recovering from an array of problems, per the Lilywhites' official website.

Wilfried Bony, Gael Clichy, Fabian Delph, Kelechi Iheanacho, Eliaquim Mangala and David Silva are all out for Manchester City.

Boss Manuel Pellegrini does, though, have Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri and the earlier-mentioned Zabaleta to call on again.

Predicted Lineups

Bleacher Report Formation Builder

Tottenham's starting XI to take on Manchester City could well be the same one that beat Crystal Palace in their last Premier League match.

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Of the back five to be rested for the cup loss to Arsenal—including goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris—the only uncertain returnee is Ben Davies.

The left-back put in one of his stronger displays of the fledgling campaign last time out as his side kept a third clean sheet in a row. Yet position rival Danny Rose's dynamic showing against the Gunners makes the notion last season's first choice will reclaim his place hard to dispel.

Barring any late knocks or problems, Dele Alli and Eric Dier will be back in central midfield. The absence of Bentaleb, Dembele and Mason just about guarantees that, although Tom Carroll's often strong work against Arsenal has given Pochettino something to think about.

Further forward, while Christian Eriksen is firmly back in contention after starting his first game since August on Wednesday, Pochettino may opt to keep with the attacking midfield trio of Nacer Chadli, Son Heung-Min and Erik Lamela.

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Nobody yet has really challenged the Belgian for his left-midfield spot (one contender in Pritchard has not been fit enough, while Clinton Njie is being eased in). Son is likely to remain the nominal central man after his winner over Palace, while Lamela's more assertive performance in that match warrants him getting a shot in a big match.

Eriksen was a comparative non-presence defensively against Arsenal—ball watching, he allowed Mathieu Flamini a free run to net the match-winning volley (and arguably could have done better for the Frenchman's first here too)—and besides some fine moments in transitional play, almost as quiet creatively. As he showed against Palace, the Dane arguably has more use as a potential impact substitute while he continues his return to peak fitness.

Pellegrini's side is likely to look a lot like the one who beat Sunderland as his Manchester City side look to reestablish some momentum.

The Chilean's attack will be led by Tottenham's bete noire Sergio Aguero (more on him later), with Jesus Navas and Raheem Sterling likely to provide the width again. With Silva out, Kevin De Bruyne will be attempting to piece things together between them.

Changes further back could be on the agenda if Pellegrini decides to rotate and try one or two things.

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Fernandinho may possibly replace Fernando alongside Yaya Toure in a midfield two. Kompany should return at centre-back, leaving his manager to decide between the more familiar partner of Martin Demichelis or new signing Nicolas Otamendi. A proper look at how the skipper works with the Argentinian may see him get the nod.

At right-back, Pellegrini also has to decide whether to stick with Bacary Sagna or select the fit-again Zabaleta. The former has done little wrong, but the Argentinian is hard not to go with when available.

Tottenham Hotspur Player to Watch: Erik Lamela

That is not always something that can be said about Zabaleta's international team-mate Lamela. However, after a quiet start to the season, the Tottenham attacking midfielder has given Pochettino good reason to stick with him.

Provider of Mason's winner at Sunderland and the match-sealing goal in the Europa League defeat of Qarabag, against Crystal Palace Lamela enjoyed his most well-rounded outing of the season.

The highlight was his work launching the move that brought Son's deciding goal. Showing persistence on the edge of his own box, the 23-year-old secured possession and set Eriksen on the break. The Dane laying it on for the South Korean to take into the box and finish.

What will have encouraged Pochettino further was Lamela's general involvement. Looking to get on the ball and contribute frequently to Spurs' attempts to penetrate the Palace defence while also pitching in without it back in his own half.

Not everything came off. If the Eagles were hard to break down and allowed him little time, Man City will be even tougher in this regard too.

Nonetheless, reestablishing himself as a functioning, effective part of this Tottenham team was vital if he is to really push on this season. Restoring Eriksen is one option for Pochettino this week, but he should not make the decision to drop Lamela lightly. Playing the Premier League table-toppers is a genuine test of whether his gathering form is for real.

Manchester City Player to Watch: Kevin De Bruyne

Also enjoying a good week or so has been Manchester City's £55 million man De Bruyne. The Belgium international scored goals in both his last two appearances.

De Bruyne's began his second spell in England with a bright debut away at Palace, coming off the bench and helping his team gain a foothold in the intimidating environs of Selhurst Park. No small thing, his new team-mates will attest—they lost there 2-1 last season.

Unable to help his team avoid defeat at home to West Ham next time out in the league, it was not for want of trying. His penalty-box strike reducing the deficit just prior to half-time was well-earned in a first half in which he did not lose heart against the stifling Irons.

Although premature to label him as influential as the tried and tested Silva in shaping Man City's attack, there was plenty to like about De Bruyne's interpretation.

Fine individual flourishes and adjustments maintained the swift and incisive connections upon which the likes of Aguero and Sterling thrive. Their attempts to harness these in the search for an equaliser was denied by West Ham's heroic rearguard effort, but City fans had enjoyed a fine showcase of their new signing's ability.

Jon Super/Associated Press

With Silva still out, De Bruyne has a further chance against Spurs to show he can reliably cover in the Spanish playmaker's absence.

Key Battle: Can Spurs Shut Down Aguero?

Aguero's goal in Manchester City's 1-0 win in May was the striker's 10th in seven appearances versus Tottenham. In a contest the north Londoners might have got more out of on another day, just stopping a man who scored four against them in their previous encounter was something of a success.

Backed by De Bruyne, Sterling, Toure and more, Aguero will fancy his chances of causing Spurs more headaches back at White Hart Lane. Especially after he scored his first goal since August midweek against Sunderland.

Tottenham will hope that was just an anomaly and that the Argentinian's run without a league goal in four games will be the sequence that holds.

Having not conceded in the division following the international break, there are signs their more-or-less settled defence has overcome its initial inconsistencies. They have not faced a striker as fearsome as Aguero, though, and if he watched Spurs' own win over Sunderland, he may fancy himself to cause Toby Alderweireld more trouble than Jermain Defoe did.

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Keeping tabs on Aguero while not overlooking his considerable support from elsewhere will also place a significant burden on midfielders Alli and Dier. Pochettino will know his team cannot afford to get pegged back against an opponent whose relentlessness is capable of opening the floodgates.

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Tottenham win: 10-11

Manchester City win: 11-4

Draw: 13-5