Champions League: Can Spurs put City off Stride?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

Champions League football arrives at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the very first time on Tuesday, when Spurs take on Manchester City in the quarter-final first leg.

The Premier League teams have certainly been making the Champions League 2019 news, with these two alongside Liverpool and Manchester United taking part in the last eight, dumping FC Bayern and PSG out of the competition on the way. Pep Guardiola’s team is chasing trophies on three fronts, with one already in the bag, and are looking stronger as the season goes on.

But Spurs is one of the few teams with the capability to knock the Sky Blues out of their stride. It all adds up to another superb Champions League night.

Talking Points

Spurs are home at last

Mauricio Pochettino’s team has gone through a tricky period in recent weeks which has seen them exit the Premier League title race and enter a four way battle for two Champions League places. And that will be a tough fight with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all in the hunt.

But Spurs had the perfect start to life in their new home at the £1 Billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, beating a dangerous Crystal Palace side 2-0 thanks to goals from Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen. That victory lifted the Whites back into third place after back to back defeats.

Moussa Sissoko put in a strong performance in midfield and he could be a key player in Spurs’ attempts to keep Manchester City’s array of attacking talent subdued. Something few teams can do. World Cup winning keeper Hugo Lloris is the last line of defence but he’ll hope his defensive wall holds firm, giving his creative players the freedom to go forward. Del Alli and Harry Kane will test the City backline when they get the chance.

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Sky Blues mean business

Having blown teams away throughout the season there has been a subtle change in Manchester City in recent weeks. Playing three of the bottom five in the Premier League, Fulham, Cardiff and Brighton, they have won 2-0, 2-0 and 1-0; but the results were never in doubt.

Manchester City is still on target for the quadruple and Pep Guardiola has been making use of his talented squad, resting players in the comfortable win against Cardiff City, and again in the recent FA Cup semi-final. Kevin De Bruyne, returned from injury, controlled the game against Cardiff, looking back to his best.

The Sky Blues are favourites to lift the European title with the latest Champions League 2019 betting odds here at SBOBET pitching them at 3.50, with Juventus just behind at odds of 3.95 and Barcelona at 4.50. This will be the toughest trophy for Guardiola’s team to win.

But at 1.18 to advance to the next round the Premier League champions are heavy favourites to triumph over two legs.

Spurs must hope the heavy fixture load will tell on Manchester City sooner rather than later, but the way they beat Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, seeing the game out with their energy and key players protected. Gabriel Jesus scored the winning goal early in the game, and then the Sky Blues simply managed their way to the FA Cup final with minimal fuss.

History

City has won the last four games against Spurs, scoring 11 and conceding just two goals, and they have won their last six away games in a sequence of 21 victories in 22.

But Tottenham is unbeaten in its last six games at home, and now that the Whites are bedding in at a permanent home they will be even harder to beat on their own turf.

Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero are in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot and both have hit five in this competition, three behind leader Lionel Messi, so that could be a shootout to enjoy.

Betting Tip

	Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City	Double Chance Tottenham Hotspur or Draw @ 1.87
	April 10 03:00 (GMT+8)

City is at 1.78 to win this first leg, with Spurs at 4.30 and the draw at 3.60. The incredible run the Sky Blues are on has got to end sometime, or has it? Spurs has finally pulled itself out of a poor run and they did well to beat a strong Borussia Dortmund side to get this far.

I think home advantage, now that Spurs is actually at home and not just squatting, might make a difference; and I also believe City’s new steely approach to winning battles will make them more likely to accept a draw to take back to the Etihad.