This is undoubtedly the game of the weekend and, being the lunchtime kick off on Saturday, it’s the perfect elixir for a drab couple of weeks without The Premier League.
Manchester City were at last beginning to show some form and momentum before the international break and Manuel Pellegrini must have been disappointed to see his players depart.
Tottenham will hope that Manchester City’s form has been arrested by the international fortnight because they are starting to look scary again. Chelsea are playing the most consistent football right now but we still believe that, on form, Manchester City are the most frightening team in the league. So Tottenham beware.
But Spurs too look to be putting a decent run of form together. A battling 1-0 against a buoyant Southampton side showed real grit and Mauricio Pochettino will hope to gain some momentum in what is turning out to be a very stop-start autumn.
Tottenham have doubts over Chadli, Naughton, Walker and Lloris – though the latter has a good chance of making the team.
As for Manchester City, only Fernandinho and Nasri are crocked so the team selection should be very strong. We are expecting a narrow home win. But if Tottenham can keep City from scoring an early goal then they may have a chance of taking something from the game. Certainly it should be one of Manchester City’s sterner tests this season.
So, fitness permitting, here are our strongest XIs for the game.
