Harry Kane shooting at goal against West Bromwich Albion.Tottenham Hotspur were the first club to expose chinks in the armour of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and the in-form north London side will seek to inflict further damage at the Etihad Stadium today.
When City travelled to White Hart Lane in October they did so with former Barcelona mastermind Guardiola threatening to turn his first season in England into a cakewalk after his side opened up with six straight Premier League wins.
A 2-0 defeat, which could have been heavier, proved not just a blip, but a huge reality check for the Spaniard whose side have never been the same since.
While Tottenham have emerged as serious title contenders, winning their last six league games to climb to second, seven points behind Chelsea, City have slipped to fifth following a 4-0 hammering at Everton last weekend.
Guardiola, who turned 46 on Wednesday, needs a quick response from a squad being derided as defensively fragile, ageing and struggling to adapt to his possession style of play.
City have managed to keep clean sheets in only 25 per cent of their matches under Guardiola with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, the man who edged England’s Joe Hart out, and big-money central defensive signing John Stones, taking their share of flak.
Ten points behind Chelsea, Guardiola all but conceded that City were out of the title race after the Goodison Park debacle.
Spurs, on the other hand, could hardly be in better shape, even if Jan Vertonghen’s ankle injury against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday took some gloss off their recent run.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have conceded only 14 goals in 21 league matches and are scoring for fun with 19 in their six-match winning streak, including Harry Kane’s hat-trick in the 4-0 rout of West Brom.
Young England midfielder Dele Alli is also in a rich vein of form so Tottenham will head north confident of a first away win against one of their top-of-the-table rivals this season, having lost to Chelsea and Manchester United and drawn at Arsenal.
With City and Spurs facing each other, the other teams in the top six will look to gain some ground.
Chelsea will need to put aside speculation about striker Diego Costa’s future when they host struggling Hull City tomorrow when fourth-placed Arsenal entertain Burnley.
Leading scorer Costa missed Chelsea’s 3-0 win at Leicester City last weekend with a back injury amid reports of a bust-up with manager Antonio Conte and a possible 30 million-pound per year deal to play in China.
Costa did return to training this week and all eyes will be on the Spain striker’s body language should he face Hull.
Third-placed Liverpool, below Tottenham on goal difference, take on bottom side Swansea City in today’s early game while Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, in sixth, go to Stoke City.
UK football fixtures...
Premier League
Playing today
Bournemouth vs Watford
Crystal Palace vs Everton
Liverpool vs Swansea City - 13.30
Middlesbrough vs West Ham
Stoke City vs Man. United
West Brom vs Sunderland
Man. City vs Tottenham - 18.30
Tomorrow
Arsenal vs Burnley - 15.15
Chelsea vs Hull City - 17.30
Southampton vs Leicester - 13.00
Standings: Chelsea 52; Tottenham, Liverpool 45; Arsenal 44; Man. City 42; Man. United 40; Everton 33; West Brom 29; Stoke City 27; Burnley 26; Bournemouth, West Ham 25; Southampton 24; Watford 23; Leicester City 21; Middlesbrough 20; Crystal Palace, Hull City 16; Sunderland, Swansea City 15.
The Championship
Playing today
Aston Villa vs Preston NE
Barnsley vs Leeds United - 18.30
Blackburn vs Birmingham
Cardiff City vs Burton Albion
Derby County vs Reading
Huddersfield vs Ipswich Town
QPR vs Fulham - 13.30
Newcastle vs Rotherham
Norwich vs Wolves
N. Forest vs Bristol City
Wigan Athletic vs Brentford
Standings: Newcastle 55; Brighton 54; Leeds 48; Reading, Huddersfield 46; Sheffield Wed. 45; Derby 40; Fulham, Preston 39; Barnsley 38; Norwich 37; Birmingham 36; Aston Villa 35; Ipswich 34; Brentford 33; Wolves, QPR 32; Cardiff 30; Bristol City, N. Forest 27; Burton 25; Blackburn 24; Wigan 22; Rotherham 16.
Scottish Cup
Playing today – Fourth round
Aberdeen vs Stranraer
Alloa Athletic vs Dunfermline
Ayr United vs Queen’s Park
Bonnyrigg Rose vs Hibernian
Dundee vs St Mirren
Elgin City vs Inverness
Greenock Morton vs Falkirk
Kilmarnock vs Hamilton
Livingston vs East Fife
Partick vs Formartine United
Rangers vs Motherwell - 13.30
Ross County vs Dundee United
St. Johnstone vs Stenhousemuir
Stirling Albion vs Clyde
Tomorrow
Raith Rovers vs Hearts - 14.05
Albion Rovers vs Celtic
Note: kick-offs 16.00 unless stated.