Manchester City know anything less than three points against Tottenham will further hand the initiative to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
City's derby defeat to Manchester United this weekend coupled with Arsenal's north London derby success over Tottenham sent the Gunners eight points clear as the Blues reach the halfway point of the season on Thursday. Both City and Spurs come into the game having lost against their local rivals, and both need a victory to kick-start their campaigns.
Pep Guardiola could welcome back John Stones after he missed the last two games with fitness issues, while Ruben Dias is also back in training following a hamstring problem that has ruled him out since the World Cup. Kevin De Bruyne missed Tuesday's training session but Guardiola confirmed the Belgian had a personal issue and is available to face Spurs.
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After the derby defeat, Guardiola could look to shake up his starting XI to try and get City back on track, and he has challenged his players to be better in getting Erling Haaland involved as the striker is now three appearances without a goal.
Read how our writers think City should line up below and use the interactive team selector to pick your own starting XI:
Simon Bajkowski
Guardiola appeared to be saying that City need more bodies in and around Haaland if they are to provide the opportunities for him to score goals again. That calls for Ilkay Gundogan alongside De Bruyne in the middle, with the club captain marvelled at for his ability to go into the box.
If Spurs are as weak as they were against Arsenal, City's wingers should also be able to find some joy. Jack Grealish was excellent off the bench against United and that role of gamechanger may suit him again with fresh legs, giving Phil Foden's pace another go from the off to unsettle the visitors.
It is good news for Guardiola that he could have all of his centre-backs available again, yet I'd be tempted to stick with the same, fit back four that did well on Saturday before the farcical refereeing decision.
PICK YOUR BEST CITY STARTING XI HERE:
Joe Bray
City could benefit from exploiting Tottenham's wobbly form, and their apparent inability to string two passes together before the 45-minute mark. Arsenal won the north London derby on Sunday by being ruthless from the start, and City can do the same with an attacking formation at the Etihad on Thursday.
Guardiola has stressed that their recent struggles to create chances isn't Haaland's fault, and he wants more bodies in attack, so maybe this could be a chance to reintroduce Julian Alvarez in the hole behind Haaland. Riyad Mahrez and Foden can add the threat out wide, with De Bruyne maybe playing a little deeper to account for another attacker, but there's no reason City can't make that formation work.
In defence, I'd be wary of rushing Dias back too soon, and while City do look more balanced with Rico Lewis in the side, there's a solid argument for keeping Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker against Tottenham's dangerous attack.
Daniel Murphy
I am a huge proponent of City's best front three being Grealish, Haaland and Foden. City's best game of the season was the 6-3 win over United in which that forward line was used but it hasn't been deployed since. Bringing them back together could be a way to get the Blues firing again.
Rodri and De Bruyne obviously keep their place but I wasn't impressed by Bernardo Silva at Old Trafford so would bring Gundogan back into the fold in his place.
Though perhaps harsh on Walker, City have looked better in recent weeks with Lewis in the side so the teenager should come in at right-back. I'd move Nathan Ake to left-back and have the returning Stones partner Aymeric Laporte at centre-back.
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