Can Tottenham hand Man City another cup upset on Sunday? – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Wembley Stadium is the venue, as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Although Jose Mourinho brought Tottenham to the cusp of lifting their first piece of silverware in 13 years, Ryan Mason will have the chance to finish the job.
The Portuguese’s sacking has lifted the spirits in north London, with the 29-year-old interim boss looking to win the trophy in his first week in senior management.
Meanwhile, City are seeking their fifth League Cup title in six years and fourth in a row, last losing a match in the competition in October 2016.
Manchester City Preview
Coming into this encounter, the Cityzens have alternated victory (three) and defeat (two) in their last five competitive matches, with four of those results (win/loss) yielding the identical 2-1 scoreline.
City’s Carabao Cup voyage began with a 2-1 win in the last-32, with Pep Guardiola’s men ousting three Premier League sides in the following rounds.
Indeed, the runaway Premier League leaders went past Burnley, Arsenal and Manchester United, beating each of them by at least a two-goal margin.
Since a 2-2 league draw at the Etihad in August 2019, none of the subsequent three competitive meetings between these two sides have ended level (W1, L2).
Before a 3-0 home win in their most recent clash back in February, City had lost back-to-back games against Tottenham by the same 2-0 scoreline.
Tottenham Hotspur Preview
Tottenham staged a second-half comeback to beat Southampton in Ryan Mason’s managerial debut, ending a run of three competitive matches without a win (D2, L1).
Despite their recent woes, the Spurs have been a fun team to watch, with each of their last four games in all competitions seeing over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring.
Both of Tottenham’s last two away fixtures have witnessed the same 2-2 scoreline, with both sides finding the net within 31 minutes of play on each occasion.
The Londoners squeezed past Chelsea in their Carabao Cup last-16 tie following a penalty shoot-out before claiming two-goal victories over lower league outfits Stoke City and Brentford in the subsequent two rounds.
Tottenham have failed to outscore City in their last six competitive encounters away from home (D2, L4), conceding an average of 2.66 goals per game in the process.
Team News
Manchester City
Out: John Stones, Sergio Aguero.
Doubts: Kevin De Bruyne.
Tottenham Hotspur
Out: Ben Davies
Doubts: Matt Doherty, Harry Kane.
Predicted Line-ups
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Japhet Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon, Sergio Reguilon; Moussa Sissoko, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg; Tanguy Ndombele, Gareth Bale, Giovani Lo Celso; Heung-min Son.