After Tottenham’s second-half collapse at the Etihad two weeks ago, a dispassionate Antonio Conte used his post-match meeting to present his squad with a series of hard facts about their defending — the most damning of which was that they had conceded 21 times in 10 games.
The session, which would normally have been a Conte-led video analysis of the game, turned into a frank exchange of views, with several senior players, including Harry Kane, speaking out. Afterwards everyone was in agreement: Spurs had no chance of saving their season unless they got back to the basics of defending.
In the two fixtures since, there have been tentative signs of progress. Spurs kept clean sheets against high-flying Fulham and Championship Preston in last weekend’s FA Cup fourth round and now have four shutouts in six matches, albeit also including the Cup tie against League One Portsmouth.
Sunday’s rematch against City will be a far greater test of their defensive resolve and should go some way to demonstrating if they are truly capable of cutting out the mistakes which have threatened to derail their campaign.
Leading 2-0 against the champions 15 days ago, Spurs gifted City four second-half goals, with Ivan Perisic at fault three times in a dreadful display, Hugo Lloris unconvincing again and substitute Clement Lenglet with the night’s most glaring error.
The surrender particularly frustrated Conte, because his players had perfectly executed a brave game plan in the first half, forcing City into mistakes of their own and capitalising through goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal in a 129-second spell just before half-time.
Having been expected to play in transition, Spurs pressed City into errors, proving that they can get at the champions on the front foot as well as on the break, as they did so well in the 3-2 win at the Etihad a year ago, which helped to transform their season.
Conte will hope last month’s defeat will prove a different kind of catalyst for his squad but, similarly, City boss Pep Guardiola also used the occasion to rally his players.
In an extraordinary post-match press conference, Guardiola accused his squad, and the club’s fans, of losing their edge, and hopes the comeback has lit a fire under his players who have failed to match last season’s levels.
Spurs cannot expect City to be so lacklustre in the first half again this weekend, and another defeat would continue their dreadful record against the rest of the ‘big six’ this season: currently played five, lost four, drawn one.
In some respects, though, the game is something of a free hit for Spurs, given many supporters would have mixed feelings about a defeat, and a City upturn, if it meant Guardiola’s side catching runaway League leaders Arsenal.
The mood at Spurs is fractious at present, but whatever the result, fans can look ahead with optimism after this weekend. Before mid-April, they face seven of the bottom eight, and home games against Chelsea and Brighton, giving them a chance to force their way back into the top-four picture.
One big question is how Spurs will cope without Conte on the touchline, as he recovers from gallbladder surgery midweek. This morning, Spurs were still waiting to discover how the Italian was feeling, with the 53-year-old considered highly unlikely to be in the dugout, but some hope he could be well enough to be in the stadium.
His assistant, Cristian Stellini, will deputise, along with first-team coach Ryan Mason, but Conte’s dynamism will be a miss for a game when Spurs will surely have to withstand spells of intense pressure.
Conte’s recovery means he will not have had chance to watch deadline-day signing Pedro Porro in training, lessening the chances of a full debut against his former club for the Spaniard, who is expected to quickly establish himself as first choice at right wing-back.
For all his shortcomings in the final third, Emerson is effective in backs-to-the-wall situations, making him a good option against City.
Perisic’s nightmare outing at the Etihad leaves Conte with a difficult decision to make at left wing-back, too, where the Croatian’s competition, Ryan Sessegnon, has struggled to make an impact of late.
