Tottenham vs Manchester City LIVE!
Spurs welcome City to north London this evening with a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals up for grabs. Ange Postecoglou could do with a statement win in a cup competition after two early exits last season, and reminding everyone that he “always” wins silverware in his second season at a team, from Australia to Japan, then Scotland and now England.
Fans will be watching on to see just how serious Postecoglou is taking this game, which is surely Spurs’ best chance of winning a trophy. A last-gasp two-goal salvo from Spurs in the last round set up this meeting with City, who won the competition four times in a row but have not reached the semi-finals in the three seasons since.
So all eyes on both sets of team news. How strong will Spurs be and will Pep Guardiola, as he suggested, play some academy stars? Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham vs Man City latest updates
- GOAL! Nunes scores with last kick of first half
- GOAL! Sarr curls home from 30 yards
- INJURY: Van de Ven forced off in tears
- GOAL! Werner fires home after five minutes
Full-time!
22:13 , Alex Young97min: There’s the whistle!
A huge, statement win for Spurs and Ange Postecoglou as they march into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals!
95min: Stadium in full voice as the clock ticks down...
94min: Jacob Wright with a speculative effort from distance. He’s been lively since coming on, impressive.
92min: Vicario makes a save down low to his left, and gratefully keeps hold of the ball a little longer than usual.
90min: Gray into the book, as six minutes of stoppage time is added on.
88min: Bissouma denies City with a superb goal-line clearance after Vicario goes missing at a corner.
83min: Richarlison had to score!
A wayward back pass from Gvardiol, let’s Richarlison run onto it with just Ortega to beat inside the area... and he hits it straight at the keeper!
82min: Kulusevski looks to send Moore free, but the youngster waits and Ortega runs out to hoof clear.
Spurs look dangerous on the counter, but City are pushing hard.
80min: Richarlison tries to release Solanke, but the striker makes his move a tad early and up goes the flag.
76min: Into the final 15 minutes of the second and City starting to set up camp in Spurs half.
74min: Simpson-Pusey is on for his Man City debut, using his final substitution in the process.
It means Haaland gets a night off.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
21:50 , Alex YoungThis game has been a nightmare for both managers in terms of injuries and not one to endear either to the League Cup, you imagine.
70min: Moore is on for Johnson, as Wright curls one from distance narrowly beyond the post for City.
69min: Richarlison replaces Werner.
68min: Werner is now signalling to the bench to come off.
67min: Subsequent corner is sent straight into Ortega’s arms.
66min: Werner scampers down the left wing and looks up for Johnson, but before the latter can get in a good position to receive the ball the pass his been intercepted
62min: Back underway after a long stoppage.
61min: Here comes a stretcher for Savinho. This doesn’t look good.
Guardiola is barking orders at Stones in the meantime.
60min: Pause in play as Savinho gets treatment. Doesn’t look like he’ll continue.
59min: Bernardo is on for Foden.
58min: Bernardo is warming up for City.
56min: This time Kulusevski picks out Werner running in from the left flank, who takes a touch cuts inside and then bends a shot far of the far post.
55min: Spurs are racking up the chances!
This time Kulusevski is denied with a low effort across goal from inside the area. Another top save from Ortega.
53min: Bissouma is booked for a late tackle, and then a big ol’ moan at the referee.
52min: Romero is replaced by Davies after Werner runs from inside his own half, with just Ortega to beat... and fires wide.
Huge groans around the ground, but it was a tough chance with three City players bearing down on him.
50min: Davies is warming up.
49min: Straight up the other end, Johnson forces Ortega into a great save down to his left.
That shot was heading for the bottom corner.
48min: City controlling possession at the start of the second half.
47min: Gvardiol and Kovacic are on for City, replacing Dias and Gundogan.
Second hallf!
21:21 , Alex Young46min: Bissouma is on for Sarr, and we’re back underway.
Looks like Bissouma is coming on.
Postecoglou was fuming at his team conceding with almost the last kick of the first half. A huge second half to come. Next goal is crucial.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
21:14 , Alex YoungNunes goal right of the stroke of half-time has changed the complexion of this game and potentially swung the momentum back to City.
Spurs scored two excellent goals but lost Micky van de Ven in a decidedly mixed half for the hosts.
Spurs had to hold on until half-time, but don't.
City scoring with their first shot on target in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and it's a completely different game now.
Half-time
21:06 , Alex Young50min: That’s half-time.
GOAL!
21:05 , Alex Young49min: Spurs couldn’t hold on until half-time!
Nunes sweeps home at the back post, completely unmarked. And that’ll likely be the last action of the first half.
45min: Sarr is being instructed to lie on the ground as Spurs set up their wall... it’s Foden, and it’s a yard over the bar.
Four minutes added on.
44min: Another City free kick, this time on the edge of the area. Romero on McAtee, and that was rash.
42min: Spurs are hanging on, and Foden should really test Vicario with a smart volley on the turn after Nunes’ dink into the area.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
20:57 , Alex YoungSpurs just need half-time here. City are enjoying a spell of pressure and if they get a goal before the break, it will feel like a very different game at the start of the second half.
Spurs are already missing van de Ven, with Radu Dragusin not looking comfortable when playing out on his left foot.
40min: Van de Ven back out and sat on bench with his team-mates. It that a good sign?
39min: Oh, Werner!
He did the hard bit buy turning smartly in the centre of the pitch and kicking off a counter, but his pass out wide is horribly mishit into touch.
37min: Best chance for City yet as Nunes gets the better of Gray, gets to the byline and sends a pass across the face of goal - but no City player there.
City definitely targeting Gray.
36min: After a long pause, the free kick is floated in but Spurs clear.
35min: A breather for City as Kulusevski takes out Foden. About 30 or so yards from goal...
34min: Kulusevski scampers after a ball over the top but Ortega runs 40 yards from his goal to boot clear.
Spurs need to keep it tight. Still a long way to go.
30min: A rare City corner and it’s sent straight out of play. They are not at the races tonight, but have the likes of Haaland on the bench.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
20:44 , Alex YoungThere was an audible gasp around the ground as the big screen showed a replay of Sarr's effort curling inside the near post from a full 30 yards.
The brilliant strike is the Senegelese's third goal of the campaign as he continues to make a case for more league starts.
Spurs have a cushion but they will want at least one more after what happened at Brighton at the start of the month.
GOAL!
20:41 , Alex Young25min: A stunner from Sarr!
Drilled home from the angle, catching Ortega out at his near post.
24min: Sarr booked for a niggly foul. Referee telling him that’s his third offence.
22min: Werner is very lively tonight - amazing what a goal does for your confidence - as he skips down the left and drills in a low cross which City clear.
18min: Spurs almost playing themselves into trouble as they try to play the ball out from the back but just about get away with it.
16min: Half a chance for Werner after another mix-up as City try to work the ball away from the penalty area.
City not quite at it tonight, but Spurs must make sure that Van de Ven injury doesn’t play on their minds.
14min: Udogie is on in Van de Ven’s place.
13min: It looks like his game has run as Van de Ven is forced off. He looks absolutely distraught.
Must feel it is significant.
11min: Uh oh, this doesn’t look good for Spurs as Van de Ven looks in some discomfort.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
20:24 , Alex YoungWell, well, well. What a finish from Timo Werner, who did not look like a forward suffering from a crisis of confidence as he calmly stroked Spurs in front from Dejan Kulusevski's cross.
It's the German's first goal of the season and feels like a potentially significant moment in his and Spurs' campaign.
7min: A high boot from Bentacnur on McAtee sees the Spurs man get a talking too. Could have been a booking, that.
GOAL!
20:22 , Alex Young5min: Werner fires home the opener!
A confident finish after a fine counterattack from Spurs, which sees Johnson bend a ball around the defence and Werner curls home!
4min: A wild cross-field ball from Bentancur for Johnson but it’s about 20 yards ahead of him.
2min: Half a penalty shout as Kulusevski takes a tumble in the area under pressure from Gundogan, but there’s nothing doing.
Kick-off!
20:16 , Alex Young1min: Here we go!
Here come the teams.
Dan Kilpatrick at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
20:11 , Alex YoungFive changes for Tottenham but I think Ange Postecoglou has got the balance right. Four of the players who come in have started in the Premier League this season and they are all on the cusp of Spurs' strongest XI.
Man City make six changes in a stronger-than-expected line-up but perhaps that's no bad thing for the hosts. Facing City's kids would have felt a little like a lose-lose situation.
A late change for Man City as Akanji has suffered an injury in the warm-up so Dias has come in and will captain the team.
The mascots are lined up in the tunnel. Where are the players?
Right, the teams are back in their dressing rooms. Not long to go now.
Ange Postecoglou to Sky Sports
20:00 , Alex YoungOn team news: "It's about winning a game or football and putting a team out there which we think is capable of getting the job done.”
On Spurs looking to win the Carabao Cup: “I hope we look at all our competitions in that way and it's part of our process to be involved in all competitions.”
Tottenham historically have a good home record against Manchester City, but have lost the last two without scoring.
Ange Postecoglou must break that run tonight.
No third start in the week for Mikey Moore, as Timo Werner comes in. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him come off the bench, though.
Dan Kilpatrick checks in
19:46 , Alex YoungHere’s our man in north London.
"It's another big game for Ange Postecoglou - aren't they all, really?"
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) October 30, 2024
This is a big game, and a big opportunity, for Spurs this evening. Here's @Dan_KP.#TOTMCI | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/b8lQwaKZId
Half an hour until kick-off as they teams are going through their final preparations.
Postecoglou’s change in tone hints at longer-term Tottenham plan
19:38 , Alex YoungAnge Postecoglou’s press conference to preview Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City was a largely routine affair, but the occasion did appear to mark a slight shift in rhetoric from the Tottenham head coach.
Postecoglou has previously been bullish about the club's short-term prospects, saying back in April, for example, that he expected Spurs to be challenging for the title this season, and last month reminding a reporter that he has "always" won a trophy in his second season at a club (which is true but nonetheless felt punchy).
But speaking between the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday and the fourth-round tie against City, Postecoglou's message was more measured.
"If anyone can show me where things can turn around in 15 months or in two years, [at] any club, apart from maybe City where it took Pep [Guardiola] a year, which is like an eternity to be fair for Pep. It doesn't exist," he said.
Postecoglou has always been clear that transforming Tottenham's style of play, culture and the make-up of his squad would take time, but equally he has rarely made such an overt call for patience.
Perhaps more than ever before, the Australian sounded like a manager who is engaged in a project and much more like his most successful recent predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, who regularly preached about the need for patience and time in his first two seasons at the club.
"That does not mean, though, that this is going to take five years," Postecoglou added. "I'm not saying that. But you can't fast-track experience.
"You can't fast-track maturity. All these things need time and you've just got to stay true."
Postecoglou's change in tone raised the question of whether Spurs' up-down start to his second season - they have won four and lost four of their first nine Premier League games - has led the head coach to rethink the timescale of the job.
Postecoglou pointed to the examples of Arsenal and Liverpool as comparable clubs who have "stuck to a process" and eventually been rewarded.
It's five changes from Spurs, as the likes of Dragusin, Sarr and Bentancur come in, while Van de Ven moves to left-back.
Man City is perhaps stronger than expected, but youngsters McAtee and O'Reilly start.
Team news in full
19:21 , Alex YoungTottenham XI: Vicario, Gray, Romero, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Johnson, Solanke, Werner
Subs: Forster, Porro, Davies, Udogie, Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison, Moore, Richarlison
Man City XI: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Ake, Gundogan, McAtee, O'Reilly, Savinho, Nunes, Foden
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Kovacic, Haaland, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, Alfa-Ruprecht
Man City XI
19:15 , Alex Young...and the visitors!
Your City side to face Spurs 💪
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 30, 2024
XI | Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Ake, Gundogan (C), McAtee, O'Reilly, Savinho, Nunes, Foden
SUBS | Ederson, Dias, Kovacic, Haaland, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, Alfa-Ruprecht#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/xbavtDdDjN
Tottenham XI
19:15 , Alex YoungHere’s how Spurs look!
Lineup locked 🔒
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 30, 2024
🔢 @krakenfx pic.twitter.com/8zkQbVj0DE
Well, it looks like Spurs and Man City have done away with the 75-minute team news deadline tonight and are reverting back to the 60-minute pre-kick-off confirmation.
Just over 10 minutes away from team news then.
Team news is imminent.
Guardiola on Amorim
18:53 , Alex YoungPep Guardiola believes Manchester United will be getting a high-level coach in Ruben Amorim but warned success depends on much more than the credentials of one individual.
Guardiola came up against Amorim in the Champions League last 16 in early 2022, held to a goalless draw in Manchester before Bernardo Silva scored twice in a convincing 5-0 win in Portugal.
When asked if Amorim has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, Guardiola said: "All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben's Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good.
"I spoke with Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And look this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League, (they have) the same points as us.
"So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it's because he's a good manager. Man United don't appoint managers who aren't at that level so we cannot say they are not able to lead Man United."
Postecoglou: How to really judge progress
18:39 , Alex YoungSpurs have not won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup but Ange Postecoglou believes performances in the Premier League offer a "better indicator" of their progress than potentially winning a cup.
He insisted that progressing over a 38-game season and winning a trophy were not mutually exclusive aims but says lifting a trophy will not be a "panacea" for Spurs.
"In my mind they go hand in hand but I still think progress in the league is a better indicator [than winning a cup] because then you know you’re putting yourself in a position to win every week and compete in every competition," the Australian said.
"That’s the only thing you can strive for. You can’t guarantee success. No one can. But you can put yourself in a position. If you can put yourself in a position in the league on a consistent basis, I think by extension you should be strong in the knockout comps.
"That’s still where I think our most meaningful progress lies. Winning a comp. Is it a positive? Absolutely. Our supporters will love it. It’s great for the club. Yes you get that winning feeling too. But it’s not a panacea for everything, obviously."
Postecoglou: Spurs lack maturity and leadership
18:33 , Alex YoungAnge Postecoglou has admitted that Tottenham lack "maturity and leadership" but says he would rather be patient with his young squad than buy more experience.
Postecoglou says Man City are the only example of a club being transformed by a coach in less than two years, as he called for time to develop Spurs.
"Show me where things can turn around in 15 months or in two years, any club, apart from maybe City where it took Pep a year, which is like an eternity to be fair for Pep. It doesn't exist," Postecoglou said.
"There is a formula there. If you want to look at recent history, there's Liverpool, there's Arsenal.
"We're aligned in what we're trying to achieve here and we know it's not going to be easy. That does not mean, though, that this is going to take five years. I'm not saying that, but you can't fast-track experience. You can't fast-track maturity. All these things need time and you've just got to stay true."
We’re still about 40 minutes or so away from team news, but early rumblings are that Pep Guardiola wasn’t joking when he said he would play the kids.
Score prediction
18:15 , Alex YoungMuch will depend on how seriously both managers take the competition on their list of priorities but it’s difficult to look past City, who should still field a more-than-capable team to win despite the many expected changes.
If Spurs have any hopes of winning silverware this season, they will surely have to beat one of their top-six rivals and this may be their best chance to date.
Man City to win, 2-1.
Man City team news
18:06 , Alex YoungPep Guardiola is set to ring the changes tonight, having previously hinted at playing some academy stars.
Guardiola has said he will not take any fitness risks with first-team players, meaning the likes of Nico O'Reilly, Kaden Braithwaite and James McAtee are all in contention to feature. Stefan Ortega will start in goa
Kevin De Bruyne has returned to training but is not yet ready to return to first-team action.
Oscar Bobb is not expected back until January, while all of Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku are doubts.
Tottenham team news
17:58 , Alex YoungTottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has hinted at changes to his team tonight.
Richarlison is pushing for his first start since August but Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson are likely to flank Dominic Solanke again.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr have not started the last two league games but could come into the midfield without significantly reducing Spurs' level.
Dejan Kulusevski may be preferred to his compatriot Lucas Bergvall as the other attacking No8 next to Sarr given the former’s excellent performances of late.
Pedro Porro was rested against AZ Alkmaar last week and is pushing to keep his place against his former club, with Radu Dragusin likely to come in at centre-half.
Postecoglou faces a decision at left-back, with Djed Spence, Ben Davies and Archie Gray all contenders to play if Destiny Udogie needs a rest.
Guglielmo Vicario is likely to keep his place in goal ahead of No2 Fraser Forster, who started at Coventry and impressed against Alkmaar last week.
Where to watch Tottenham vs Man City
17:51 , Alex YoungTV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Sky Go app.
Welcome
17:47 , Alex YoungGood evening and welcome to the Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Carabao Cup fourth-round clash between Tottenham and Manchester City.
Ange Postecoglou faces a tough test to not crash out of the cup early for another season - and keep his record of always winning a trophy in his second season alive.
Pep Guardiola has already said this is not a priority for City, and they have only reached one quarter-final in the last three seasons. How strong will they go?
Kick-off is at 8.15pm. Stick with us.
