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2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 12
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Saturday, 23 November 2024
Kick-off is at 19h30
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola finds himself in unfamiliar waters as he looks to get the club's
Premier League title challenge back on track against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, November 23.
The Citizens have fallen five points behind league leaders Liverpool in second place after being beaten 2-1 by Brighton prior to the international break - their second consecutive defeat in the top flight.
Coupled with losses to Spurs in the EFL Cup and Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League, it was the first time in Guardiola's managerial career that he had suffered four straight defeats.
The Reds extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 triumph over Aston Villa on November 9, while Chelsea (3rd) and Arsenal (4th) reduced the gap to City to four points following their 1-1 draw on November 11.
The Lilywhites' indifferent form continued with a surprise 2-1 loss to Ipswich on November 10 which left them three points outside the UEFA Champions League places in 10th spot.
Ange Postecoglou's side have only recorded back-to-back wins in the league once this season and they've now lost three of their last five games.
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Guardiola has a whole host of injuries to contend with as Rodri (knee) and Oscar Bobb (calf) are sidelined for the rest of the year, while Jeremy Doku (muscular) and Nathan Ake (hamstring) are also unavailable. Ruben Dias (calf), John Stones (ankle), Matheus Nunes, Manuel Akanji (groin), Philip Foden and Jack Grealish are all rated doubtful.
Postecoglou must also do without a handful of players as Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert (all thigh) are all ruled out, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended. Timo Werner (groin) and Mikey Moore (illness) could come back into contention though.
Guardiola is convinced that City will soon hit their stride again once he gets his full compliment of players back, having been without six senior stars for the clash with Albion.
"I'm sure when the players come back, they can make some individual qualities on the team and we'll be back," the Spaniard said.
"We lost two games in the Premier League. Of course, we have to change and get back to winning.
"When the players come back I have no doubts we'll be back to the best. This is my challenge, I love a challenge. I won't step back, more than ever I want to do it. We will try again."
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Spurs have now gone behind 13 times at home in the Premier League this year, but Postecoglou refused to see it as a recurring issue.
"They're all different sorts of scenarios. When we went behind against Villa we were playing well. We weren't playing well today (against Ipswich). So you've got to look at in isolation today, it was a different scenario for me," he said.
"I don't think it was anything like last time. We gave ourselves too much of a deficit to try to overcome. Obviously second half we had the opportunities to do that, but we should never have been in that position."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City wins - 2
Tottenham wins - 2
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 12 fixtures:
Saturday, November 23
14h30: Leicester City v Chelsea
17h00: Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
17h00: Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
17h00: Everton v Brentford
17h00: Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
19h30: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday, November 24
16h00: Southampton v Liverpool
18h30: Ipswich Town v Manchester United
Monday, November 25
22h00: Newcastle United v West Ham United
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