FA Cup: Spurs and City Both have a Huge Prize in Mind

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

Manchester City’s FA Cup defence continues in North London on Friday when Pep Guardiola takes his champions to meet Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur.

The Sky Blues are hoping to repeat their treble winning season and re-write the record books and they are in good shape in the Premier League and Champions League. Meanwhile, Tottenham have been playing superb football under their Aussie coach and their fans are as hopeful as ever of ending their trophy drought which stretches back to 2008.

City have won seven league titles and three FA Cups is that time, plus six Carabao Cups; but Guardiola and his men want more and this match promises to be a cracker.

The FA Cup 2024 betting odds have installed the Sky Blues as favourites to win the trophy at a SBOTOP price of 4.00 and if City win this game, you will see that offer fall. The champions come into the game on the back of a 3-2 victory away to Newcastle United while Spurs drew 2-2 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

There are some mouth-watering clashes to come this weekend, with Chelsea hosting Aston Villa and Fulham welcoming Newcastle United; but this is the tie of the round.

Talking Points

Richarlison finally settles at Spurs

Richarlison will aim to score goals for Tottenham Hotspur when they host Manchester City in the FA Cup at home — Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison in action against Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric in the FA Cup third round

Since his £50m transfer from Everton in 2022, Brazil star Richarlison has struggled on and off the pitch. He only scored one league goal in his first full campaign at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and has suffered mental health issues since, seeking professional help early in the 2023/24 campaign. But the 26 year old is in a good place now and he’s clearly enjoying his football. He looks as lively as ever, confident on the ball and his focus on goal scoring is as sharp as ever. Richarlison’s opener in the 2-2 draw with the Red Devils was his sixth goal in six appearances and now he looks every bit the £50m striker.

The arrival of Timo Werner, on loan from Red Bull Leipzig, has given Spurs more options up front and he put in a strong performance on his debut, making the assist for Rodrigo Bentancur’s equaliser. And the promise of form from both Richarlison and Werner will take some pressure from the shoulders of skipper Heung-Min Son when he returns from the Asian Cup. The return from long term injury of Bentancur is a huge boost too; he is a commanding presence in the middle of the park and gives this exciting Spurs team some steel.

Bodies back for Sky Blues

Manchester City enter the second half of the campaign in good shape, second in the Premier League and with a game in hand on leaders Liverpool. And the worrying thing for their rivals is that some key players are coming back from injury. Kevin de Bruyne had been out since the opening game of the campaign but the midfield maestro made a re-appearance in the 5-0 FA Cup win over Huddersfield, before putting in a man-of-the-match performance in the win over Newcastle, scoring a stunning goal and then assisting the winner.

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The pre-match FA Cup 2024 news coming out of the Etihad suggests another first teamer could be in the reckoning as utility man John Stones has returned to training following a lay-off with an ankle injury, picked up during a win over Everton late in December. With centre back Manuel Akanji still sidelined, the return of Stones, who joined his teammates in warm weather training in Abu Dhabi, is a boost and he could feature against Spurs on Friday. But the frustration goes on for top scorer Erling Haaland who has been out for six weeks with a foot injury and the big Norwegian is apparently getting rather bored.

The Sky Blues have already won the FIFA World Club Championship, beating Fluminese in the final. They are on the hunt for three more trophies and when Haaland joins the returning players Manchester City’s charge could become irresistible.

History

Spurs have won 29 of the head-to-head encounters, with Manchester City winning 21 and there have been nine draws in all competitions since 1993.

The last meeting, at the Etihad Stadium in December ended in a 3-3 draw, as Dejan Kulusevski scored a 90^th minute equaliser.

City are unbeaten in nine games and have won the last six while Tottenham have won four, drawn one and lost one of the last six. But the Sky Blues have failed to win on their last five visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs have won four home games in a row.