Derby match of the Premiership’s Week 25 will take place in London, where Tottenham Hotspur awaits Manchester City. The hosts are desperate to win this one and boost morale with one big scalp. Meanwhile, the Citizens gave up on the title fight, as they became aware that Liverpool’s advantage is just too big. However, that doesn’t mean that Guardiola’s crew comes into this one without any motive.
Preview
Tottenham is six points away from Chelsea and No.4, which leads to the Champions League. It is their main goal for this season, and if by any chance they fail to reach it, the campaign will be a total disaster. After a period of shaky results, the Spurs posted four straight games without a loss, in which they recorded two wins and draws each. Although they didn’t profit too much from these contests, it is still much better than it used to be. Tottenham finally closed the saga with Christian Eriksen, who is in Inter Milan now. The club from London reacted almost immediately, buying Steven Bergwijn from PSV, refreshing their struggling offense. Five of the previous seven matches Spurs played saw under 2.5 goals. They are coming into this one after a draw in FA Cup against Southampton, and now they need to play a rematch. In less than 20 days, Mourinho’s team has Champions League challenges, meaning that this draw might cost them valuable rest and energy.
City doesn’t have those sorts of problems. After trashing Fulham in the FA Cup with 4-0, Guardiola’s boys lost against United in the second leg of the Carabao Cup at Etihad, but they advanced to the next stage winning on aggregate, 3-2. Before the clash with United, the Sky-Blues recorded seven wins and a draw, and it seems that they slowly increase the pace as the Champions League approaches. It is no secret that Guardiola and the owners want the European throne rather than anything else. The efficiency of their events is very high, and six of the previous eight saw over 2.5 scores, five of them concluding with four or more hits. In the last five road events, City scored 16 times, and that tells you a lot about their approach.
Head to head
The first game of the season at Etihad saw a draw, 2-2, with yet another VAR thriller. Gabriel Jesus scored in the fourth minute of the injury time, but his goal was canceled after reviewing the entire situation. The last game played here saw Spurs beating City in the Champions League quarterfinals, with 1-0.
Prediction
It is do or die for Tottenham, who doesn’t have too many options. Mourinho and his team need all three points from this clash, not only to keep the pace with Chelsea and United but also to improve the shaky morale inside the locker room and on the standings as well. Beating the Citizens would mean a lot before the matchup with Red Bull Leipzig. Meanwhile, the most significant advantage of the guests is the fact that they don’t have any pressure. They can’t win the title and are safe in second place, which means that these games are played purely for pleasure. City can attack and impose its own style without concerns about possible consequences. Because of all this, over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is our idea for this derby. The odds at BetXChange are 0.71, which is very good.
