Paul Merson has insisted that Manchester City must overcome Tottenham in order to keep their Premier League title hopes alive. Spurs are set to welcome the reigning champions to N17 on Sunday, February 5 as they look to avenge their defeat in the reverse fixture last month.
Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal netted twice in the final moments of the first-half against Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium. With a 2-0 lead at the break, Tottenham looked set to clinch all three points but City had other ideas.
They launched out of the blocks and pulled back two goals inside the opening ten minutes of the second-half, thanks to Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. City went from strength to strength and Riyad Mahrez eventually clinched the victory to keep table-toppers Arsenal in their sights.
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Spurs will be eager to exact their revenge against City, though it could come at the expense of handing their arch-rivals a huge boost towards the Premier League title. Guardiola's side are five points behind Arsenal, though the the Gunners have a game in hand.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Merson issued his prediction for the Tottenham clash. The former Arsenal midfielder said: "The pressure’s going to be on Manchester City this week. They’ll probably be eight points behind Arsenal when they play this game, and they can’t afford anything less than a win here.
"If they don’t beat Tottenham, I don’t see how they can make up the difference. I think Julian Alvarez would start in any other football team. He’s a very good player, and he changed the game against Arsenal.
"Erling Haaland is going to start up front, with Mahrez on the right – these guys are shoo-ins," Merson added. "At the moment, Pep Guardiola seems to fancy Grealish more than Foden.
"Pep knows what he’s doing – he pushes players, gets the best out of them for as long as he can, and then changes it up. It’s quite clever how he does it, and he’s fortunate to have the players to do it.
"Something has definitely happened with Joao Cancelo. I know he’s come out and denied it, but something’s gone on. He was one of the best players in the Premier League last season, and now he’s on loan at Bayern Munich – I don’t see how that deal happens.
"Man City are playing on a lot of fronts, and an injury could end their season. Cancelo has played in the Champions League and he’s been a big player for City. I’m shocked, and I don’t believe that nothing’s happened.
"Manchester City have a nice fixture list in the Premier League after this game, and this is a big match. Tottenham will sit back and make it hard for them, but City should be able to win this game."
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