Ally McCoist predicts ‘difficult’ Tottenham v Manchester City clash
Ally McCoist envisages a tight clash between Tottenham and Manchester City on Wednesday night.
The two sides meet at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a game that many are struggling to call due to the inconsistent form of both teams.
As the home side and coming into this game with three Premier League wins in a row, Ange Postecoglou will be desperate for another three points to ease the pressure on his shoulders.
McCoist backing Tottenham victory
Although there are eight places between Tottenham in 13th and Manchester City in fifth in the Premier League, their two seasons have been similar.
| Wins | Draws | Losses | |
| Tottenham | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| Manchester City | 13 | 5 | 8 |
Both teams have fallen way below where they are expected to be this term and produced poor performances consistently.
Furthermore, you don’t even know which Tottenham team you’re going to get or which Manchester City with stark comparisons between their best versions and their weakest.
However, offering their predictions live on talkSPORT (26 February), both Sam Matterface and McCoist admitted they see Tottenham edging it.
Matterface said: “After results last night, I think City actually need to win, especially with the Champions League position up for debate really. They’re almost as difficult to trust as Spurs though.
“Both defences are conceding goals wherever they play. I’d expect goals again. I’m going to go 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur, as we must call them, and Johnson to score.”
McCoist offered a similar view as he contributed: “Tottenham Hotspur, as we all know well informed, really having poor injuries. The good news is it looks as though Van de Ven, Solanke, Romero, Richarlison might be available for the next home match against Bournemouth but they’re not available for tonight.
“That said, good result over the weekend against Ipswich. Manchester City absolutely all over the place. It’s as difficult a game to predict as you can get but Tottenham Hotspur will win the match 2-1 and Kulusevski will score.”
Tottenham win a boost for Postecoglou
As a result of his side’s poor form throughout the season so far, there has been plenty of debate over the future of Postecoglou at Tottenham.
There’s no doubt that injuries have played their part in the Lilywhites’ struggles this term. However, the manager has to take some responsibility for his lack of adaptability to suit his style to the players he has available.
Furthermore, having doubled down on his claim that he always wins a trophy in a second season with a club, there is certainly pressure on Tottenham to deliver in North London this term.
That being said, having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, there is only Europa League football left to play for, meaning the pressure is also on for Premier League form to improve too.
Postecoglou’s side have won their last three Premier League games though and if they can carry on this run against City it will surely give the manager a chance to breathe for now.