The defending Premier League champions, Manchester City, will host Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad this Saturday, August 17th at 12:30 PM EST. 

 

The Citizens are off to a flying start in the early days of this 2019/20 Premier League season having dismantled West Ham 5-0, in a game where they were firmly in control right from the first whistle. Tottenham were also able to secure all three points in their first match-up against Aston Villa, but the scoreline will show a more comfortable victory than it actually was. City’s first true test to secure their 3rd straight Premier League title will be a scrappy, unrelenting Tottenham team orchestrated by Maruicio Pochettino and led by Harry Kane. Pep Guardiola will be looking to issue a warning statement to the rest of the league that they are not letting up, and their squad depth will be vital in their pursuit. 

 

Likely Line-up: Tottenham 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond)

 

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris 

Defenders: Kyle Walker-Peters, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertongen, Danny Rose

Midfielders: Harry Winks, Tanguy NDombele, Moussa Sissoko, Cristian Eriksen 

Forward: Harry Kane, Lucas Moura

 

Two changes are likely to be made to the Tottenham starting lineup with the return of Jan Vertongen and a start for Cristian Eriksen. Eriksen proved vital in their come-from-behind victory against Aston Villa and he will look to pull the strings in the attack against City. Pochettino will likely stick to his 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond) formation that was stifled in the first half against Villa. With Manchester City likely to play wide and stretch the touch lines, Spurs will look to stay narrow and counter any dispossession in the midfield. KWP will need to have a momentous game against Raheem Sterling if Spurs are going to stay competitive in this match, but I fully expect Moussa Sissoko to do his job of providing cover for the young 22 year old. 

 

Likely Line-Up: Manchester City 4-3-3

 

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Defenders: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko 

Midfielders: Rodrigo, Silva, De Bruyne

Forward: Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero

 

As always, predicting the Manchester City starting 11 is pretty much a crap shoot. I believe we are likely to see only one change from the lineup that started at West Ham, which will be Sergio Aguero for Gabriel Jesus up top. City will look to put pressure on the right hand side of Tottenham’s defense and youngster Kyle Walker-Peters at RB. Expect Sterling to be on the ball often and creating havoc by making runs between KWP and Alderweireld. If given time and space, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva can pick apart any opposition, it will be up to Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele to provide the pressure in midfield. 

 

FPL Players to Watch

 

In no particular order I believe that these are the players to keep an eye out going into GW 2. 

(Player Pricing based off OFPL)

 

TOT: Kane (£73m), Eriksen (£21m), Ndombele (£10m)

MCU: Sterling (£86m), Aguero (£76m), De Bruyne (£45m), Zinchenko (£5m)

Prices are based on the average of Draft Fantasy’s Auction Drafts

Hard to say if you should consider captaining any City or Spurs player this weekend. We have seen two very different games played between these two sides in last years Champions League, one game ended 1-0 to Tottenham and the other ending 4-3 to City. The safest bet in this match is Raheem Sterling and with his price tag you almost have to Captain him week in and week out. 

 

Predicted Result

 

Neither team will be able to hold on for a clean sheet in this match but I fully expect the score line to be closer than many assume. We know how Spurs will look to lineup and counter the Man City attack just like they did in the second leg of the Champions League in April which saw them through to the Semi-Final. The big question is, will their defense be able to sustain the amount of pressure that the Citizens will throw at them? I foresee some controversy in this game with the addition of VAR to the Premier League which could push this game either way. All in all, each team takes a point from GW 2.