Tottenham must tonight beat Manchester City to keep their faint hopes of finishing fourth alive.
Some fans may not be too fussed about recording a fifth consecutive win over City in the Premier League, given the implications on Arsenal’s title hopes, but Ange Postecoglou is targeting all three points.
Spurs have struggled in recent weeks, and months, but here’s Dan Kilpatrick on three ways City can be contained.
Trust Van de Ven with Haaland
Tottenham are usually happy to leave Micky van de Ven one-on-one with his centre-forward, and the game’s most intriguing individual duel will surely be the Dutchman’s attempts to stop Erling Haaland.
They are both freakish physical specimens — towering, strong and quick — and are likely to have more than one foot race in the final third. Van de Ven is a master at sweeping up behind Spurs’ high line, although there is a chance he could be asked to deputise at left-back.
Get Maddison on the ball
If Spurs are to exploit City’s high line with the pace of Heung-min Son and Brennan Johnson, they need quality on the ball, which is where James Maddison comes in.
The England player has been short of rhythm and confidence since returning from injury in January, but looked closer to his best in the win over Burnley at the weekend, suggesting two games on the bench might have been beneficial. Unlocking this City team will require high-risk, incisive passing — and Maddison is capable of providing it.
Lock down City’s left flank
City left-back Josko Gvardiol has five goals in seven games, including a brace in the weekend’s 4-0 win at Fulham, while Phil Foden remains in sparkling form, leaving City’s left flank looking ominous.
The hard-working Dejan Kulusevski and right-back Pedro Porro will have a huge job to do defensively, particularly with holding midfielder Yves Bissouma missing with a knee injury. But locking down City’s left flank would go some way to subduing their attacking threat.
