Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City in the round of 16 of the Premier League. Although on paper, Man City has the upper hand, the English league system is unpredictable. Tottenham Hotspur's players are physically and mentally exhausted after their defeat in the EPL, but the sweetness of playing at home has rekindled their fighting spirit. Looking at the last four meetings between the two sides, the total number of goals scored has amounted to no more than two, while the last time it soared to a median of 3.5 goals.
Tottenham Hotspur's success at home is mostly due to the limited strength of their opponents. However, the last time they lost at home, they lost to their city rivals Arsenal. Today, they are facing a tough opponent like Manchester City. It is expected that Tottenham's manager Mr. Pusztigorowski will adjust his tactics to avoid repeating the same mistake. Considering the intensive schedule and the physical exhaustion of the players, slowing down the pace of the game seems to be an inevitable choice. In the past five EPL matches, Tottenham only won one game on statutory time, and in three of those encounters with Manchester City, it was difficult to break down the opponent's door.
Manchester City continued to lead the table in the Premier League with a narrow win over Southampton, but its attacking power has slipped compared to the past. The English league seems to have given the answer. "Food for thought, food for thought", with starters such as Aynin Chalant and Phil Cotton expected to be given a rest. In City's last round of League One matches against Walford, Pep Guardiola's team adopted a "striker-less formation", which affected the goal scoring efficiency but also made the opponents' goal scoring not so easy.
