Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City, UEFA Champions League Quarter-final – First Leg: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 UEFA Champions League – Quarter-final, First Leg

Date/Time: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City – Tuesday, 9 April 2019, 20:00 GMT (UK); 15:00 EST, 12:00 PST (USA)

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Björn Kuipers

Assistants: Sander van Roekel, Erwin Zeinstra

Fourth Official: William Collum

VAR: Danny Makkelie, Pol van Boekel

TV Info: BT Sport 2 (UK); Galavision (USA)

Live Stream: BT Sport Live (UK); Fubo.tv (USA) Fubo.tv shows every Manchester City game with a high-quality and legal stream. New to Fubo.tv? Click here to sign up for a discounted rate.

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK)

Preview:

The UEFA Champions League has returned. Tottenham Hotspur will host Manchester City in the first leg of the competition’s quarter-finals.

The Spurs were enjoying a rather entertaining spell at the start of the calendar year, where they were in contention with Liverpool and Manchester City for the English Premier League title. Their form at the end of February, however, took a turn for the worst. Having previously held a commanding lead in the table, the Londoners now find themselves in the battle for EPL’s top four. Moreover, they have only won one of their previous five EPL fixtures, causing concern among the Spurs faithful.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are still in contention for the EPL title, and overcame Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup Semi-Final over the weekend. The Mancunians have noticeably been a little rusty in their last few fixtures, but they are still finding ways to win matches. This shows the extra calibre of trophy winning sides, and the Sky Blues will put the Spurs to the test in the first leg of this quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

Team News:

Tottenham Hotspur are without the injured Eric Dier, Erik Lemela and Serge Aurier. Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janseen are questionable.

Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko is injured and will not feature in this match. Sergio Agüero, Kyle Walker, Fabian Delph and Claudio Bravo are doubtful.

Possible Lineups:

Tottenham Hotspur

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Alli; Son, Eriksen, Moura; Kane

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Danilo, Stones, Otamendi, Laporte; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, D. Silva; Sterling, Jesus, B. Silva

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Prediction:

Tottenham hold the advantage in this fixture. Having recently moved to their stadium, they will look to perform at their best in front of their fans. Moreover, they Spurs have had a week’s rest and should be well prepared for their encounter with Manchester City.

Manchester City, meanwhile, will play their third match in seven days. They recently faced Cardiff City in the EPL on Wednesday and took on a stubborn Brighton side in the FA Cup Semi-Final on Saturday. Given the number of matches in such a short period of time, it would not be surprising if City are noticeably fatigued.

With these points in mind, the Spurs have the edge in this match. Should they exploit City’s recent defensive injuries, Tottenham could run off with a result. Therefore, it is predicted the Spurs will win this match, but it will be everything to play for in the second leg.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City