Manchester City will be going in search of a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
City, who were beaten 1-0 by Spurs on the opening weekend of the season back in August, continued their excellent run of form with a scintillating 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday evening, thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva (2), Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.
Victory in Lisbon, which has all but sealed City's place in the quarter-finals, extended their winning run to four games, meaning confidence will be sky-high within the squad ahead of Spurs' visit.
With Liverpool in action earlier in the day on Saturday, City's lead at the top may have been reduced to six points by the time they kick-off at 5:30pm, meaning there may be a sense of pressure on the players to rediscover a nine-point advantage.
But how to do the pundits think City will get on against Antonio Conte's side?
Mark Lawrenson - BBC Sport
"Tottenham beat Manchester City on the opening weekend of the season, but there are plenty of reasons it has not turned into the campaign that Spurs fans would have hoped for on the back of that result," Lawrenson told BBC Sport.
"Antonio Conte started really well when he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as Tottenham manager in November, but their recent form and results have been poor. I don't think they are strong enough defensively but, more than anything, I am just not sure what sort of state they are in psychologically, because all does not seem very happy in their camp.
"City? Well they just keep on winning. They took Sporting Lisbon apart in style on Tuesday and it will take something special from Tottenham to get something at Etihad Stadium. I don't see it happening."
Prediction : City 2-0 Spurs.
Paul Merson - Sportskeeda
"Tottenham are struggling badly in the Premier League," Merson told Sportskeeda. "A few weeks ago, they were seventh with three games in hand, but after playing them all, they've somehow dropped down to eighth.
"I don't see anything but a Manchester City win here and it could well be a huge scoreline if the home side bring their A-game.
"These are worrying times for Spurs. If they sit back and defend for the entirety of the game, I think it may only be 2-0 but if they open it up, it could be six. At the moment, they are desperately devoid of confidence and haven't had any luck, so this could be a long day for the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min."
Prediction : City 4-0 Spurs.
Michael Owen - BetVictor
"What a week for City, nine goals scored and zero conceded," Owen told BetVictor. "Pep wasn’t happy with the performance in Lisbon, so to win 5-0 shows the standards he has set for this team.
"Raheem Sterling scored a lovely goal in Lisbon to go with the three against Norwich, he looks in great form.
"The pressure is really on Spurs now after three straight defeats in the league. I thought that Spurs would really kick-on in 2022, but they’ve really disappointed.
"Conte doesn’t seem happy, and the atmosphere around the club can’t be good. I don’t see things getting better this weekend and I’m going for a 4-1 win to the Citizens."
Prediction : City 4-1 Spurs.
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