Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing north London derby defeat, but face a tough midweek test against Manchester City.
Two goals in the first half handed Arsenal a 2-0 win over Spurs, with Antonio Conte's side losing both Premier League matches in the same season to their rivals for the first time since 2014. It was a tough defeat to take for Spurs, but they need to regroup as they face title chasers Man City next.
The Lilywhites have proven to be a bogey team for City in recent years, with Conte's side beating Pep Guardiola's side in both meetings last season. Lucas Moura is the only confirmed absentee for Spurs, with Rodrigo Bentancur hopefully set to return to the starting XI.
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So, could Spurs make it three wins in a row against Manchester City on Thursday night? Let's take a look.
Man City vs Spurs score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Son, Kulusevski, Kane.
Spurs really struggled in the opening half an hour at the Etihad, with the hosts controlling every aspect of the game and rarely allowing Spurs a touch of the ball. City camped around the edge of the Spurs box as they looked to break Conte's blunt back line, and 34 minutes in, the Lilywhites found themselves trailing by two goals.
The first strike came when Erling Haaland pounced on Hugo Lloris' spill from a corner, and the striker bundled the ball over the line from close range. Haaland's second was his standout of the two, with Ilkay Gundogan rolling the ball through the legs of Eric Dier for the Norwegian to claim before blasting a powerful strike into the top corner.
It was a poor showing from Conte's side in the first half, with his side set to enter the break without having a single shot. But, in the second minute of time added at the end of the half, Harry Kane pulled a goal back for Spurs, setting up an interesting second 45.
After dropping deep to pick up the ball, Kane found Dejan Kulusevski on the right, and the winger did well to hold up the ball and wait for Kane to become an option again. The striker burst forward and was able to latch onto Kulusevski's pass through on goal, and after holding off John Stones, Kane curled the ball around Ederson with the outside of his foot to make it 2-1.
The goal was Spurs' first shot all game, and whilst it was undeserved, it was the perfect end to the half for Spurs. Unfortunately for Conte's side, the Lilywhites failed to carry any momentum into the second half, and City took control of the game again, scoring another two goals after the restart.
The score became 3-1 in the 60th minute when Manuel Akanji flicked Kevin De Bruyne's corner into the far corner of the net, with the City man beating three Spurs players to the cross. The hosts held possession for the remainder of the game and they grabbed a fourth in the 84th minute when Haaland finished off a swift counter-attacking move to grab his hat-trick and confirm the victory for City.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Man City 4-1 Spurs
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that Spurs could suffer another blow in their race for a spot in the Premier League top four, losing 4-1 to Man City. It was a poor response from Conte's side after the north London derby defeat, with the backline looking shaky at times, allowing Haaland to score three.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments.
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