Prediction: Tottenham vs Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur could keep their Champions League hopes alive by defeating Premier League holders Manchester City at White Hart Lane, but that is easier said than done. The Citizens have finally shown some improvement to defeat West Ham and Aston Villa, and they arrive in North London in good spirits.

Another disappointing season is drawing to a close for Tottenham Hotspur, with club officials already looking for ways to reinforce the squad in the summer. Chances are that several high-profile players will be leaving shortly, namely Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado, who have shown very little since joining in big money deals last summer. These next four games will serve as a good opportunity for manager Mauricio Pochettino to see who he can count on next season as well as identify the players that do not have what it takes to play at this level. When it comes to the weekend’s clash with revived Manchester City, Spurs do not exactly head into the game in confident mood, having been pretty inconsistent of late. Tottenham players showed a lot of character to twice come from a goal behind in a 2-2 draw with Southampton, but team’s overall performance was far from impressive, so they will definitely need to show improvement if they want to get revenge on the Citizens for the 4-1 loss at Etihad earlier this season. The likes of Kyle Walker, Ben Davies and Danny Rose are struggling through injury, and they could all miss out the Manchester City game.

The fact that last year’s Premier League champions haven’t come even close to winning a major trophy this season should be enough to make everyone at the club worried, and manager Manuel Pellegrini could pay the ultimate price for a disappointing campaign in the summer. A second-place finish in the league could give the Chilean reason to hope he might still be here come late August, but that would be little comfort to club fans who expected the Citizens to fight for major honours. The good news is that the dismal run of results is finally over, with Manchester City defeating West Ham and Aston Villa to return to second, although third-place Arsenal now have a game in hand. Another positive is that top scorer Sergio Aguero has rediscovered his scoring touch, having bagged four goals in last three appearances, but Wilfried Bony and Edin Dzeko are not exactly pulling their weight. Even so, Manchester City appear to be slowly returning to the right track and with the confidence now back at Etihad, Manuel Pellegrini’s men look a good bet to see off underperforming Tottenham. The likes of Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Stevan Jovetic remain sidelined, while Yaya Toure battles a hamstring problem.

Conclusion

Tottenham have struggled for form of late and they haven’t exactly proved their worth when facing the big guns this season. Manchester City, on the other hand, are showing signs of improvement and I can definitely see them winning at White Hart Lane.

Verdict: Away win Manchester City (2)

Best Odds: 1/1

Bookmaker: bet365