Manchester City travel to North London for their most vital game of the season. And it just happens to be an away match against Spurs. If the Blues win, they will put one hand on the Premier League title. With just one match remaining, the Blues would be a point clear and a home game to come against West Ham. Failure to win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will pass the advantage to Arsenal.

City have lost all four of their last Premier League matches at the new ground without scoring, however, they did score their first goal since 2018 at Spurs in the FA Cup victory in January. With the season coming to an exciting end, it remains to be seen whether the Blues can hold their nerve, cope with the pressure and record their first league victory in North London.

Form

Spurs’ Champions League hopes hang firmly in the balance and will end if Aston Villa beat Liverpool on Monday night. However, should Liverpool avoid defeat, Spur swill still have an outside chance of finishing fourth and a CL qualifying spot.

Their results recently have been indifferent. They scraped past Burnley at the weekend to relegate the Clarets. That win ended a run of four consecutive defeats, including a lacklustre performance at Liverpool that ended in a 4-2 defeat, a 2-0 loss at Chelsea, a 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal and a 4-0 thrashing at Newcastle .

At home, Spurs have won 13 and lost 5. In addition to that loss to Arsenal, they have been defeated at home by Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa (all 1-2), while Chelsea thrashed Spurs 4-1 in November.

Of the teams around them, Spurs have only beaten Liverpool (2-1) and Newcastle (4-1) in the first half of the season. In 2024, Spurs have played eight matches at home, winning six and losing two. They have scored 15 and conceded ten. They have failed to keep a clean sheet at home in the league since October, when they beat Fulham 2-0. They have not failed to score at home this season and are yet to record a draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, City are the only side to prevent them from scoring at home to date.

Danger men

Son Heung-min is Spurs’ biggest threat in front of goal. The South Korean striker has scored 17 from 34 matches, has a goal conversion rate of 29% and a shot accuracy rating of 62%. He has attempted 58 shots this season, the highest in the Spurs side. Brazilian striker Richarlison has 12 goals from 31 matches and has attempted 51 shots.

Son’s last goal came in the 4-2 battering at Liverpool, as did Richarlison’s. Son’s last scored in the home match to Arsenal, when he scored an 87th-minute penalty. His last goal from general play was an 87th-minute winner at home to Luton Town, while Richarlison’s last home goal came on 31st January, when Spurs beat Brentford 3-2.

Dejan Kulusevski has scored six goals but, from the Spurs regulars, has the highest shot accuracy rating of 73%.

Spare a thought for Alejo Veliz. The Argentine youngster has only played 8 matches and scored one goal. He is the only person to have a 100% shot accuracy and goal conversion rate.

Son also leads the way with assists. he has created 56 chances for his teammates, 9 of which have been converted. Brennan Johnson also has nine this season from 32 chances created and summer signing James Maddison has 8 to his name, after creating 52 opportunities.

Giovani Lo Celso has the highest pass accuracy with 91%, while former City defender Pedro Porro has attempted the most passes with 1,851, 1,467 of which have been completed. Porro has seven assists to his credit from 46 chances created.

The Boss

Ange Postecoglou took over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June 2023 after two successful years in charge at Celtic. He enjoyed a 10-match unbeaten start in the league, however, his side went out of the League Cup on penalties to Fulham. During that run, his side won 8 and drew two and topped the table by two points at the end of October.

He has presided over 39 matches for Spurs so far, winning 20 and losing 12, giving him a win ratio of 51%.

Last Time Out

City and Spurs have faced each other twice this season. In December, the pair played out a thrilling yet controversial 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Son scored at both end in the 6th and 9th minutes, Phil Foden put City in front, only for Lo Celso to equalise in the second half. Jack Grealish put City back in front with nine minutes to go, however, Kulusevski levelled in the 90th minute.

The controversy came in the last moments of the match when Erling Haaland was fouled, but got up to release Grealish. The referee had initially allowed play to continue, however, once Grealish was clear, the referee drew play back and awarded a free-kick to City, prompting a furious reaction from the Blues.

In January, a dominant City side beat Spurs 1-0 in London thanks to a late goal from Nathan Ake to progress to the third round of the FA Cup.