Tottenham Hotspur will travel to the Etihad Stadium to clash heads with Manchester City in the Premier League at the back of a 3-1 win over Aston Villa last weekend. Spurs will have the opportunity to hand a huge psychological blow to the Citizens on Saturday if they can secure a win away at Manchester.
However, it will be far from easy as Pep Guardiola’s side are looking unstoppable at this moment in their quest to win three successive league titles in the English top-flight.
Pochettino is expected to opt for a 4-4-2 (diamond) formation to counter Guardiola’s 4-3-3 set-up. Here are three changes that the Spurs boss should consider implementing to ensure a positive result versus the Citizens this weekend.
Continue Playing Harry Kane And Lucas Moura Up Front
Guardiola is expected to play a back four, so Pochettino needs to deploy both Kane and Moura up top to keep the pressure on the Citizens defenders. Kane scored a quickfire brace against Aston Villa last weekend which secured all three points for his team. Hence, he will be confident that he can replicate a similar display alongside Moura at the Etihad on Saturday.
Unleash Three Holding Midfielders At The Centre Of The Park
Spurs will be wise to play with a midfield three of Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele so that they can battle for every loose ball at the centre of the park while up against the talented Man City midfielders.
Neutralising the threat of Kevin De Bruyne could be the key to success for the North London outfit this weekend. Furthermore, both Sissoko and Ndombele proved that they could make some driving runs from midfield against the Villans. Therefore, the duo’s energy and work ethic could give Spurs an edge in this upcoming Premier League encounter.
Start Aurier In Place Of Walker-Peters
Kyle Walker-Peters has performed well for Spurs over the past few matches. However, Pochettino is in need a more experienced defender at right-back if he wants to stop Raheem Sterling from wreaking havoc down the wide areas. Hence, Serge Aurier should be handed a first-team start as he has completed a full recovery from his recent injury setback.
