Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2012-01-22 - Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 22 January 2012 - Kick Off 1:30pm
This game is live on TV

Manchester City

Manchester City looked like they might be having a small wobble as they fell out of the FA Cup to Manchester United and were also beaten in the first leg of their Carling Cup tie with Liverpool, both games at home. Roberto Mancini has also had the air of a man that is feeling the pressure of needing to pick up results as judged by his current card-waving activities.

However, City remain on top of the Premier League, holding a 3 point lead over Manchester United which could be extended before United travel to Arsenal in the later game on Sunday afternoon. They have been perfect at the Etihad Stadium this season in the League, winning all 10 games they have played there while scoring 31 goals and conceding just 4. That means they currently have the best defensive record at home, while only United have scored more home goals.

City have won just 2 of their last 6 games in all competitions, and have actually lost 3 of their last 5. However, they have lost just 1 of their last 6 games in the Premier League, while they have kept 3 clean sheets in a row at home.

Micah Richards and Mario Balotelli are expected to return to the starting line up for this game, but City will be without Vincent Kompany (suspended) and the Toure Brothers (African Cup of Nations).

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur are still very much in the race for the Premier League title, despite the announcements from the management that making the Champions League would be the ultimate achievement for this season. The team lost a couple of key points at home against Wolves last weekend, but have a chance to make amends if they can pick up the 3 points from this important clash at the weekend.

While the team did not play on Saturday, Spurs fans would have been very happy seeing Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United all fail to win meaning Spurs' own Champions League spot has been solidified. The team are 3rd in the Premier League table, 5 points behind City at the top of the table and 5 clear of 4th placed Chelsea. They are 6-2-2 away from White Hart Lane this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding 12.

Spurs are unbeaten in their last 9 games in all competitions since losing 2-1 to Stoke City. After a long run of good form, Tottenham have hit the buffers just slightly on their travels, winning 1 of their last 3 games in the Premier League. They had won 5 of 6 before these latest results.

Ledley King, William Gallas and Tom Huddlestone will not be in the squad through injury, while Emmanuel Adebayor cannot take part against his parent club and will be replaced by Jermain Defoe up front.

Head to Head

Manchester City stunned Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane earlier this season, winning that game 1-5 but both sides are in different forms since then.

There have now been 8 games between these sides in Manchester since there was last a draw. Spurs have won 6 of those games, although it was City who won 1-0 here last season to secure their Champions League place.

Prediction

This is going to be a tough game for both sides on Sunday afternoon as both have been in decent form.

However, I just have a feeling that Tottenham Hotspur are catching Manchester City at the right time, and feel they may even have the edge in the midfield battle that can be so important in these big games.

The absence of Yaya Toure is huge, while the missing Vincent Kompany leaves them a little vulnerable at the back. The free-flowing goals have also slowed down a little bit of late and Spurs could seriously spring a surprise here.

The absence of Adebayor is a big deal for Spurs, but I think they could control the midfield and that will give Defoe chances to get on the scoresheet, while Savic who is in for Kompany could have a tough time to deal with the pace in the Spurs frontline.

I am not quite convinced that Spurs will win this game, but I am going to back them not to lose.

The Statistics :

MAN_CITY LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-01-03	W	3-0	H v Liverpool
	2011-12-21	W	3-0	H v Stoke_City
	2011-12-18	W	1-0	H v Arsenal
	2011-12-03	W	5-1	H v Norwich
	2011-11-19	W	3-1	H v Newcastle
	2011-10-29	W	3-1	H v Wolves

TOTTENHAM LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-12-31	D	1-1	A v Swansea
	2011-12-27	W	0-2	A v Norwich
	2011-12-11	L	2-1	A v Stoke_City
	2011-11-26	W	1-3	A v WBA
	2011-11-06	W	1-3	A v Fulham
	2011-10-23	W	1-2	A v Blackburn

HEAD TO HEAD MAN_CITY v TOTTENHAM
DATE	HOME	SCORE	AWAY
2011-05-10	Man_City	1-0	Tottenham
2010-05-05	Man_City	0-1	Tottenham
2008-11-10	Man_City	1-2	Tottenham
2008-03-16	Man_City	2-1	Tottenham
2006-12-17	Man_City	1-2	Tottenham
2006-01-04	Man_City	0-2	Tottenham