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Football London
Football London
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Bobby Vincent

Riyad Mahrez sends emphatic warning to Tottenham ahead of Manchester City showdown

Riyad Mahrez has insisted there will be no let-up from Manchester City on Saturday evening as they welcome Tottenham to the Etihad Stadium.

Spurs go into the clash off the back of three straight Premier League defeats - and could not face a more difficult task against the runaway leaders on their own patch.

Man City have not lost a competitive match since being beaten by RB Leipzig in the Champions League at the start of December and have not been defeated in the Premier League since the end of October at home to Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola, once again, has got his star-studded team playing some excellent football - and that showed on Tuesday evening as they thumped Sporting Lisbon 5-0 away from home in the Champions League.

City were at their scintillating best on the night and Mahrez, who opened the scoring in his side's 5-0 win on Tuesday, has now insisted they will aim to do the same when they go head-to-head with Tottenham at the weekend.

Speaking to Manchester City's official website, the Algerian said: "We have the pressure in every match, but we do not think much about that. Winning this competition [the Champions League] is very far from now, we go match by match.

"The Champions League is never easy and the quality is higher, especially in the knockout games. We came here very focused.

"There is still another game to play and this season in the Champions League there are no away goals, it is not like before.

Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 win against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday evening (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

"But the next game at home, we are going to have the same focus and the same type of game. We are going to try to win again. The Champions League is not easy and not like a league.

"You have to be there in so many things and we have to be strong and arrive at the end. On Tuesday, we won, we played a great match, we scored five goals, and this is the way to carry on in the next games.

"Now, it's time to focus on the Premier League and try to play a good game against Tottenham."

Tottenham's chances

As mentioned above, Tottenham have been beaten in their previous three league matches - making the trip to Manchester that bit more important for Antonio Conte.

Conte himself will know the difficulties of going to the Etihad and getting anything in the way of points, especially with the form Manchester City have been in recently.

It is set to be a huge week in terms of training for Spurs at Hotspur Way as Conte looks to find a way of frustrating City, knowing the Premier League leaders will have the majority of possession on the day.

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