Aiming to end their 16-year trophy drought, Tottenham Hotspur will welcome English champions Manchester City to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for an EFL Cup fourth-round clash on Wednesday night.
The Lilywhites will be looking to bounce back following a loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday, whilst the Citizens are striving to build on a narrow win over struggling Southampton a day earlier.
Match preview
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Following back-to-back wins in North London over West Ham United and AZ Alkmaar since the return of club football after the international break, Tottenham's early-season inconsistency reared its ugly head once again on Sunday afternoon, when the Lilywhites handed Crystal Palace their maiden win of the campaign.
The visitors to Selhurst Park did little to deserve anything tangible from their trip across the capital, with an unforgivable chunk of lazy build-up from the back allowing towering striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to net his third goal of the league campaign, securing maximum points for the Eagles.
After their fifth-placed finish and subsequent Europa League qualification during Ange Postecoglou's first season at the club, another push for Champions League football is the remit for Tottenham in 2024-25, however Wednesday's hosts are currently occupying eighth spot in the Premier League standings.
Despite facing English and European powerhouses Manchester City in a last-16 tie, this competition arguably represents the best chance for Spurs to lift their first piece of major silverware since the EFL Cup final triumph of 2008, when goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Jonathan Woodgate sealed a 2-1 success over Chelsea at the Wembley final.
Postecoglou's troops were two minutes away from an embarrassing third-round exit last month at the home of Championship outfit Coventry City, however last-gasp strikes from right-back Djed Spence and winger Brennan Johnson spared the blushes of a much-changed Spurs starting XI.
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Since the 1-1 draw at St James' Park on September 28, Manchester City have enjoyed a flawless October schedule, winning five straight contests across the Premier League and Champions League, including a one-goal success over relegation-threatened Southampton at the Etihad on the weekend.
Finding the net for the 11th time in the Premier League on his ninth appearance in 2024-25, Erling Haaland must have thought he had opened the floodgates on the blue side of Manchester after breaching the goal of Aaron Ramsdale in the fifth minute, although the Citizens were forced to settle for a narrow victory over the Saints.
After back-to-back wins and clean sheets at the Etihad over the past week, Pep Guardiola's troops now face a daunting four-match away run in the space of 11 days prior to November's international break, meaning that the Premier League champions' close-knit squad will be pushed to the limit.
Wednesday's visitors to North London have loosened their chokehold on this competition in recent times following a period of domination during the late 2010s and early 2020s, with the Citizens exiting the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage or earlier in two of the last three seasons.
Man City have already bettered their third-round exit of the 2023-24 campaign at the hands of Newcastle by squeezing past second-tier side Watford at the Etihad last month, with first-half goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes rendering Tom Ince's late strike a mere consolation for Tom Cleverley's Hornets.
Team News
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Tottenham are expected to be without the services of Son Heung-min, with the talismanic South Korean missing matches against AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace over the past week owing to a thigh injury.
At just 17 years of age, academy graduate Mikey Moore was handed his full Premier League debut at Selhurst Park on Sunday, and the exciting attacker could be in line for another starting berth on Wednesday night.
A goalscoring hero during the third-round success over Coventry last month, Spence is set to be sidelined until late November due to a groin issue.
Deeming Wednesday's trip to Tottenham as the least important of the upcoming quartet of away fixtures, Man City boss Guardiola is set to rotate his side heavily, with the Spaniard suggesting that he could use a raft of academy players.
Earning game time in the previous round versus Watford, 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite and Nico O'Reilly could be in line for spots in the XI once again.
First-team stars such as Kevin De Bruyne (groin) and Kyle Walker (thigh) remain sidelined without specific return dates, adding to the lack of options for the Citizens.
Man City also have a pair of long-term absentees, with Oscar Bobb sidelined until the New Year, whilst Rodri will not play again this season following a cruciate ligament injury.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Betancur, Maddison; Werner, Johnson, Richarlison
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Braithwaite, Ake; O'Reilly, Savio, McAtee, Gundogan, Nunes; Foden
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Manchester City
With Manchester City set to include a number of academy players in their squad, Tottenham will sense the opportunity to book their spot in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
That being said, a Guardiola side littered with first-team stars should still be more than a match for the Lilywhites, who we expect to exit the EFL Cup following a narrow defeat in North London.
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