Arguably the pick of the FA Cup fourth-round ties, Tottenham Hotspur host defending champions Manchester City in Friday's mouthwatering North London contest.
The Lilywhites edged past Burnley 1-0 to earn a date with the treble winners, who began their quest for back-to-back titles with a 5-0 drubbing of Huddersfield Town in the third round.
Match preview
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With no European trophy to compete for and an early EFL Cup exit representing the first blot on Ange Postecoglou's notebook, the FA Cup is Tottenham's best hope of ending their unsightly 16-year streak without a piece of silverware, unless the capital giants enjoy an unexpected Premier League title renaissance in the coming months.
There was little to write home about for either Tottenham or Burnley during their third-round scrap earlier this month, that was until right-back Pedro Porro settled the tie with an outrageous second-half strike into the top corner of the net, extending Spurs' winning streak at home to four matches in the process.
Nine days after an unconvincing success over the Clarets, Tottenham returned to the road for an intriguing Premier League showdown with City's formerly noisy neighbours Manchester United, who took the lead twice through Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford only to be pegged back by Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur on both occasions.
Failure to overcome a Red Devils side enduring a prolonged plateau under Erik ten Hag may go down as an opportunity missed for the Lilywhites, who will have had 12 days to dwell on that 2-2 draw before resuming their quest for glory in the FA Cup, a competition in which they have not suffered a fourth-round exit since 2018-19.
Not since being stunted by AC Milan in March 2023 have Tottenham failed to score at home in any competition, but Friday's match will mark their first FA Cup home tie against the reigning champions since 1952, when they were dispatched 3-0 by Newcastle United.
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Aiming to follow in the footsteps of the Magpies, City commenced their bid for back-to-back FA Cup crowns with a customary Etihad annihilation of lower-tier opposition, putting five past Huddersfield Town without reply to kick off the New Year in emphatic fashion.
That five-star performance coincidentally marked a fifth victory on the trot for the treble winners in all tournaments before a trip across the North to lock horns with Newcastle, who succumbed to the individual excellence of returning hero Kevin De Bruyne in a 3-2 loss to Pep Guardiola's outfit, who were staring down the barrel of defeat before the Belgian's brilliance shone through.
On his first Premier League appearance since the opening weekend of the season, De Bruyne found the bottom corner for City's equaliser before picking out Oscar Bobb for the Citizens' late winner, which many felt represented a turning point in their hitherto faltering title bid.
The champions still have a five-point gap to make up to leaders Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand on the Reds, and Guardiola now endeavours to avoid a first-ever fourth-round exit from the FA Cup - a fate City have not suffered since the Manuel Pellegrini days of 2014-15.
Since December's agonising 1-0 loss to Aston Villa, Guardiola's side have struck at least two goals in their last nine matches across all tournaments, but the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium curse has bedevilled them ever since the ground's baptism; City have lost all five games at Spurs' new base without scoring a single goal.
Team News
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With both Mali and Senegal advancing from their respective Africa Cup of Nations groups, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma remain absent from Tottenham duty for the time being, as does South Korea skipper Son Heung-min due to Asian Cup commitments.
Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Alejo Veliz (knee), Manor Solomon (knee) and Giovani Lo Celso (thigh) remain sidelined too, but James Maddison is in contention to make his long-awaited return from an ankle problem, while Ben Davies (thigh) and Dane Scarlett (unspecified) are back in training too.
On another positive note, Dejan Kulusevski will return from the illness which denied them the chance to face Man United, and Postecoglou also affirmed that the problem which forced Micky van de Ven off the field at Old Trafford was nothing more sinister than cramp.
As for the holders, Guardiola was forced into an unwanted goalkeeping alteration in the early exchanges of his side's triumph over Newcastle, as Ederson came off worse in a collision with Sean Longstaff and was swiftly replaced by Stefan Ortega.
Ederson has made a swift recovery, but Ortega will most likely retain possession of the gloves for Friday's game, where Erling Haaland (foot) is not expected to make his comeback after suffering a small setback in his rehabilitation.
Defensive duo John Stones (ankle) and Manuel Akanji (knock) missed the trip to Newcastle as well, and while the latter is still in the care of the doctors, Stones is in contention to face the Lilywhites.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner; Richarlison
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Alvarez
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Manchester City
After an engrossing and controversial six-goal stalemate between Tottenham and Man City at the Etihad in December, another goal-laden contest ought to be on the menu on Friday, especially with both clubs enjoying the luxury of a weekend off following all-action top-flight affairs.
Owing to Tottenham's midfield shortages, Man City's scoring hoodoo at Spurs' headquarters should finally be banished, but an unwanted replay may be required to determine which heavyweight punches their ticket to the fifth round.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
