Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur, in what is sure to be an intriguing tie in the context of the Premier League title and top-four races.
In startling form, Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions come into the fixture unbeaten in 15 league fixtures. Conversely, Antonio Conte will be looking for a reaction from his out-of-form side, following a run of three successive league defeats, against Chelsea, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Rewinding back to the reverse fixture, Tottenham produced an excellent display to record a 1-0 opening-weekend victory courtesy of Son Heung-min.
Much reliance today will be on the rotations of City’s attacking players, with Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in some brilliant recent form, as all three scored in their 5-0 Champions League triumph against Sporting Lisbon.
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Spurs will be desperate to stop this from becoming a reality, with Son set to be an influential presence as well as one-time City target Harry Kane. New signings Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski will also be keen to make their quality known in the early stages of their Tottenham careers.
Check back below for live updates through the 90 minutes, plus pregame and postgame coverage.
Man City vs. Spurs live score
Man City 1
Gundogan (33)
Spurs 1
Kulusevski (4)
Man City vs. Spurs live updates
HALF TIME: A chance for everyone to catch a breath. Antonio Conte, who spent the latter stages of the half screaming at his team to calm down, will need it as much as anyone.
46th min: Sterling carries the ball into the area, but Romero does well to get himself between the England man and the ball, seeing the danger out for a goal kick.
42nd min: Walker drills a low cross across the area that is attacked by Sterling from the left. Emerson Royal throws himself in the way of Sterling’s shot, and gets a kick for his troubles. There’s a brief stoppage as he receives treatment.
40th min: The game has been a bit scrappy since the equaliser. Spurs have been more aggressive off the ball, and are looking to go more direct, while City are looking a little uncomfortable by the change in the flow of the game.
33rd min: GOAL!
Gundogan rifles home! Sterling crosses towards the near post from the left hand side, and Lloris is unconvincing. The ball falls to the feet of Gundogan, who has an easy finish.
32nd min: City have done well to turn the screw since going behind, but are yet to force Hugo Lloris into a save.
30th min: Foden glides into the box from the right, with the ball ending up on the opposite side, but good work by Royal and Romero see it out for a throw in. Spurs defending in almost a back six at times, with Kulusevski playing almost as a second right back.
28th min: The visitors are still posing a threat on the counter, as Walker beats Son to a ball fizzed down the line by Højbjerg, but they don’t look as composed in defence as they did earlier in the game.
26th min: City are finding all the space in the world on the left hand side, working the ball into the area for a Foden shot blocked by Davies. Emerson Royal doesn’t seem sure when to close down and when to hold his position, and City are making the most of that.
23rd min: Cancelo goes close again. A City corner finds the full back on the edge of the area, but his shot misses the target. Spurs look dangerous on the counter as Son runs in behind, but Kane’s pass is behind the attacker.
21st min: City beginning to up the tempo now. After a 1-2, Cancelo shoots from a tight angle. Lloris saves, although he was offside anyway. The visiting defence kept a good line. Moments later, Sterling drives into the box from the left, committing defenders before laying off to Gundogan, who can only hit the outside of the far post.
17th min: Cancelo goes close! The City man cuts inside from the corner of the box, dancing between Spurs defenders before curling the ball towards the far post. It’s off target, but the best moment from a City player so far.
13th min: Son and Kulusevski had taken up deep positions off the ball, with Tottenham’s 5-4-1 in defence keeping the middle compact. City are struggling to get the ball in the centre of pitch and are being forced to cross from wide.
First #PL start, first @SpursOfficial goal for Dejan Kulusevski ⚪#MCITOT pic.twitter.com/Uw7JSrcAPE
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 19, 2022
9th min: City have had lots of the ball since conceding, but haven’t been able to knit anything together yet. When they win it back, Spurs look a threat on the counter.
5th min: GOAL!
Kane sends Son in behind on the left, as Dias fails to play the Korean offside. Son attacks the box and squares the ball to Kulusevski for an easy finish from the edge of the area.
4th min: Both sides have had possession, but no early sights of goal yet.
1st min: Kick off! Spurs get the game underway in Manchester.
12:29pm: The teams are out on the pitch. Lots of eyes will be on Harry Kane after the protracted transfer saga in the summer.
12:25pm: Only five minutes to go now! The Etihad is filling up as the atmosphere builds under the lights.
12:11pm: After the day’s earlier results, a win would be timely for Conte’s men. They’ll be hoping to keep pace with Arsenal and capitalise on West Ham’s draw. Liverpool’s win at home to Norwich means the gap between first and second is down to 6 points. Today’s hosts, who have only dropped 2 points since the start of November, will want to make sure they don’t let anything slip today.
11:46am: It’s Hugo Lloris’ 400th appearance for Spurs today, the North London side may need a big performance from their shot stopper if they’re going to reverse their recent run of poor form today. It will be interesting to see how Conte sets his team up for the challenge at hand. Kulusevski’s versatility means he has the freedom to pick between a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3.
11:38am: It’s two changes to the City side that dealt with Sporting Lisbon so easily. Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker get the nod today, with John Stones and Riyad Mahrez dropping to the bench.
11:37am: Eric Dier’s expected return to the starting XI will be a boost for Antonio Conte, while Lucas Moura will start the game on the bench. January signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur are both trusted from the start.
11:32am: The Spurs lineup is announced:
Your team to take on @ManCity! ? pic.twitter.com/E3QRbs7lHO
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 19, 2022
11:30am: The team news is in for the hosts:
Your City XI to take on Tottenham! ⬇️
XI | Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Sterling, De Bruyne, Foden
SUBS | Carson, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Delap, McAtee, Lavia#ManCity | @HaysTechnology pic.twitter.com/1PXbaD7bJv
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 19, 2022
11:00am: Antonio Conte looks to be delighted with the news that Eric Dier is back in contention for today’s match, claiming that the Englishman is an “important player” and “strong personality” for the North London outfit. No doubt, Tottenham could use his experience later on as they have leaked goals in the last few games.
10:45am: Despite Spurs’ recent poor form, City boss Guardiola seems well aware of the threat the opposition poses to his side today. Particularly, the 51-year-old was full of praise for Heung-min Son, Harry Kane, and Lucas Moura.
10:30am: Welcome to Sporting News’ live coverage as Manchester City’s assault on the Premier League title continues. All eyes will be on Harry Kane, travelling to Etihad Stadium for the first time since his potential summer transfer fell through.
All Times Eastern