The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host a mouthwatering contest on Sunday afternoon, as the champions Manchester City head to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Man City will be looking to defend the title that they reclaimed last term, while Spurs will be aiming to push closer to the top four in 2021-22, having finished a disappointing seventh in the top flight last season.
Match preview
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Now under the management of Nuno Espirito Santo, it will be fascinating to see what Tottenham achieve this season, and as expected, talk of Harry Kane has dominated the build up to this contest; the England captain trained alongside his teammates on Friday, but Nuno has refused to reveal whether the striker will play against the side that are desperate to sign him in the current market.
Spurs have managed to boost their squad this summer with the arrivals of Bryan Gil, Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero, but it would be a monumental blow to the North London club if they were to lose Kane, who is thought to be valued by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in excess of £160m.
Whether or not Kane plays this weekend, Tottenham have bigger fish to fry, with the team desperate to make a positive start to the season. Last term, the club claimed seventh, but they were only five points off the top four, and Nuno will certainly be looking to move closer to the Champions League spots this season.
Not too much can be read into pre-season, but Spurs impressed in their most recent friendlies against Chelsea and Arsenal, drawing 2-2 with the Blues before beating the Gunners 1-0 on August 8, and there was plenty for the fans to be positive about in the two contests earlier this month.
Tottenham have a busy end to August, meanwhile, as they will take on Pacos Ferreira in a two-legged contest in the Europa Conference League, in addition to facing Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford in the league.
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Man City's 2021-22 campaign officially started last weekend, with the Citizens suffering a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City in the Community Shield, but it was an understrength side that took to the field.
Pep Guardiola's side certainly had their problems during the 2020-21 campaign, but a record of 27 wins, five draws and six defeats from 38 matches saw them collect 86 points, which left them 12 points clear of second-place Manchester United, showing the gap that potential challengers need to make up this term.
Man City have broken the British transfer record this summer to sign Jack Grealish, while they are still said to be actively pursuing Kane, despite Guardiola refusing to discuss the England captain when questioned on the situation during Friday's pre-match press conference.
The Citizens will believe that a positive result on Sunday would set them up nicely for back-to-back home matches against Norwich City and Arsenal to end the month, and it is vital that the likes of Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea manage to cling onto the champions in the early months of the season.
Man City were impressive in their last league clash with Tottenham, recording a 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, but Spurs won this particular fixture 2-0 last season, and it would be some story if Kane inspired the home side to an opening-weekend success here.
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Team News
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Nuno revealed on Friday that Kane was back in training with the club, but it would be a surprise to see him in the starting XI this weekend, so Son Heung-min could lead the line.
New signing Romero is also a doubt due to an injury that he picked up at the Copa America, meaning that Davinson Sanchez could feature alongside Eric Dier in the middle of the defence.
Tanguy Ndombele is not expected to make the squad, but Japhet Tanganga should start at right-back despite being forced off against Arsenal last time out.
Lucas Moura, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn could ultimately operate as the three behind Son, with Giovani Lo Celso joining Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park.
As for Man City, Phil Foden remains on the sidelines due to a foot injury, while Kevin De Bruyne will not be involved, as the Belgium international is still not training fully with the club.
Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Ederson are all ready following international commitments, though, and it would not be a surprise to see at least three of those start against Tottenham.
Grealish is in line to make his Premier League debut for the Citizens, while Ferran Torres and Riyad Mahrez are also expected to feature in the final third of the field, with Gabriel Jesus an option off the bench.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Tanganga; Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon; Lo Celso, Hojbjerg; Lucas, Dele, Bergwijn; Son
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, Fernandinho; Mahrez, Torres, Grealish
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Manchester City
It is always difficult to know exactly what to expect on the opening weekend of the new campaign, and it would not be a surprise to see a home win, an away win or a draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Man City are the favourites, but Tottenham's squad is still full of quality, and we can see a low-scoring draw here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 53.46%. A draw had a probability of 23.3% and a win for Tottenham Hotspur had a probability of 23.26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.79%) and 0-2 (8.92%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.97%), while for a Tottenham Hotspur win it was 1-0 (6.15%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood.
