Preview: City v Tottenham

After a rough FA Cup match against Watford, it's a little worrisome to go on the road against Tottenham. New manager Tim Sherwood hasn't lost in his 6 Premier League matches so far, winning 4 and drawing 2. They haven't lost since their 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool. Sherwood has brought Emanuel Adebayor back into the fold, and has made players like Christian Erikson more central to his team.

Sherwood has admitted that they have looked at the success that City have had this season when trying to figure out how to get the best results from his players. His central two midfielders attempt to emulate Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, and he likes to play his two strikers up front.

Problem is, his players aren't of the same caliber as ours. He has Chadli and Dembele, while we have two of the best central midfielders in the world. Soldado is the striker we turned down for Negredo, and Adebayor was shown the door once Aguero and Dzeko came into the team. If Sherwood tries to trade punches in this game, they'll probably score one or two, but we'll score 5 or 6.

I think that this will be the game where Sherwood starts to get some questions seriously asked of his style. His defeat in the FA Cup by Arsenal was easy to overlook just after the big win at Old Trafford. His team has been in a good enough run of form so far, mostly spurred on by Adebayor's run to form. Problem is, his form can quickly disappear, as City fans can attest.

Kompany et al are ready for this match. Our defensive unit have gotten some flak, especially after giving up 2 goals against Watford. It wouldn't surprise me to see Adebayor get marked completely out of this game. When that happens, he tends to lose patience and get silly bookings. That's what happened last season against Arsenal, and he cost his team, as they gave up 5 goals.

With Silva back in the lineup and Aguero back in peak form, it wouldn't be surprising to see another thrashing of Tottenham.

Expected lineup: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya, Navas, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero.

Edin Dzeko has been a thorn in the side of Tottenham before, and with Negredo coming back from a shoulder injury, he'll probably get the start again today. Matija Nastasic has looked shaky recently, and I expect Pellegrini to go with the man he knows and trusts in Demichelis. Kolarov has combined really well this season with Dzeko, so that will be a key pairing to look for.

Prediction: City 5 Tottenham 1

Poll!

I'm curious to see who people would rather have start alongside Vinny at the back today.