chrissivad
Staff
- May 20, 2005
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Tottenham v Manchester City
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Saturday, 14 August Kick-off: 1245 BST
Coverage: : Live on Sky Sports 2, BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio & highlights on Match of the Day
For more details on coverage please check out Geez's Live Media Thread Click Here
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2[ar]
Tottenham and Manchester City hold the honour of getting the 2010/11 Premier League season up and running..
The last campaign saw these two heavyweights slugging it out towards the top of the table and more of the same is expected this time around.
Spurs eventually pipped City to fourth spot and it is they who are currently preparing themselves for a shot at the UEFA Champions League.
It has, however, been a summer of mass transfer activity at Eastlands and Roberto Mancini is expected to have City in the title mix come May.
Worryingly for Spurs, as they look to burst out of the blocks, they have won only two of their last nine opening day fixtures.
On a more positive note, they have won 11 of their last 12 top flight encounters with City and the last six in a row at White Hart Lane.
That statistic will bother Mancini and the Italian will want to redress the balance on Saturday lunchtime.
One factor which could work in his favour is that he possesses a number of players who gave fared admirably against Tottenham in the past.
Ex-Arsenal men Emmanuel Adebayor and Patrick Vieria have enjoyed their meetings with Spurs over recent years, with both regularly finding the target against their former arch-rivals.
Pairing
The biggest dilemma facing Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp ahead of the game is who to pair in attack.
The Spurs boss is still looking to bolster his striking options, but already has Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane at his disposal.
Keane, fresh from making his 100th appearance for Republic of Ireland in midweek, has been in red-hot form throughout pre-season and will be determined to make his mark after being loaned out to Celtic last term.
Another man pushing for a starting berth is Gareth Bale, who is expected to shake off the bruised leg which forced him to miss Wales' clash with Luxembourg on Wednesday.
Jonathan Woodgate (groin) and Roman Pavlyuchenko (hamstring) remain sidelined and will play no part in the early stages of the season.
Debuts
City could hand Premier League debuts to their raft of summer arrivals.
Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov will all be looking to make a positive first impression.
Mancini must also chose whether to stick with the consistent Shay Given in goal or give England international Joe Hart his big chance between the sticks.
One player who definitely will not feature at White Hart Lane is Craig Bellamy, who has been left out of City's 25-man squad for the new season and appears destined to be heading for pastures new.
Surprisingly, Robinho has been included in the Blues' squad but the Brazilian in unlikely to make his return to action, following a loan spell at Santos, in North London.
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2[ar]
Gareth Bale will line-up for Tottenham after overcoming the bruised leg that forced him to sit out Wales' midweek international with Luxembourg.
Roman Pavlyuchenko misses out with a hamstring injury and Jonathan Woodgate is no closer to a first-team return.
Manchester City are poised to give debuts to their big-money summer signings Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov.
Shay Given is expected to be City's number one ahead of Joe Hart.
Tottenham
Injured: Pavlyuchenko (hamstring), Woodgate (groin)
Man City
Injured: None
Manchester City will be casting envious glances at Tottenham when the Londoners take on Young Boys of Bern on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.
City's answer to narrowly missing out on the coveted fourth and final Champions League place to Spurs has been simple. They have spent, and spent big: signing four players at a cost of £75m, with James Milner and Mario Balotelli set to follow.
Expectations are sky high for City this season and unless the Premier League is under the shade of a blue moon come May, and their trophy cabinet is dusted down for the first time for 34 years, manager Roberto Mancini will be anxiously fearing for his future.
In contrast, Tottenham have had a quiet summer and signed just one player, Brazilian midfielder Sandro, which is remarkable by the standards of arch wheeler-dealer Harry Redknapp.
Their win over Liverpool on the first day of last season laid down a marker to the rest of the league. A repeat against City, in what is set to be a mouth-watering curtain raiser to the season, and Harry's boys will look a good bet to go fourth once again.
2[ar]
Head-to-head
• Man City have lost to Tottenham more times than they have to any other club since the Premier League's inception (19).
• Spurs have beaten Manchester City in 11 out of their last 12 matches in the league - City's only victory came at home in March 2008.
• Eight of the last 11 Premier League matches between the sides have ended 2-1.
Tottenham
• Spurs set a Premier League record last season as they had 19 different goalscorers.
• Tottenham have managed to win just two of their last nine matches on the opening day of the season, but they did kick off the last campaign with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool.
• They play their first-ever match in the Champions League against Young Boys of Bern on Tuesday night.
Man City
• Manchester City's former Arsenal players, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Adebayor, have excellent scoring records against Tottenham. Vieira has found the net on four of his last five visits to White Hart Lane and Adebayor has scored six goals in his last eight league matches against Tottenham.
• Roberto Mancini's side were the only team not to lose a game after scoring first in the Premier League last season.
• Gareth Barry will be making his 400th appearance in the Premier League.
LEADING GOALSCORERS FROM LAST SEASON
Tottenham
Defoe: 24 goals (18 league); Crouch: 13 goals (8 league)
Man City
Tevez: 29 goals (23 league); Adebayor: 14 goals (14 league)
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For listings on where you can view the match visit Geez's Live Media Thread
Geez's Live Media Thread
The Chat Room is still open but I dont think any of the triggers will be working. You can still use it to talk about the match though
Tottenham Vs ManCity Total Goals HT/FT
