The Premier League game of the week is upon us on Sunday as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola renew their rivalry in North London -- kickoff is at 11:30 a.m. ET and you can stream via fuboTV (Try for free). Man City enters the game in second place with a 16-3-5 record with its title hopes decimated, trailing Liverpool by 22 points. Meanwhile, Tottenham was jumped by a few teams on Saturday and enters the game in eighth, but a win on Sunday would see the team catapult into fifth place.
In the build-up to the match, Mourinho pointed out how there is little difference between last season's City team that won the title and the current roster. He knows his team, without the services of Harry Kane (hamstring), must put together a strong performance to have a chance.
"I don't think they have a problem," Mourinho said according to the club. "The problem is that Liverpool are winning matches and keeping them at a distance. For me, City is the same profile of team, same qualities, same power they've had in the last few years. So, it's a very difficult game for us but nobody can tell us we are not going to win because we don't believe. If at the end of the game we draw or lose, that's after the game, but before and during the game, nobody is going to take away the belief that we can win the game."
Tottenham may be boosted by City's consistent injury problems that has left them with a depleted back line at times this season, needing to use midfielders to play in defense. One of the players who had a long layoff and returned recently is Aymeric Laporte, who came off in their last league match against Sheffield United. Guardiola thinks he could play on Sunday.
"Aymeric is OK. He had fatigue but he wasn't injured, but I'm not going to take risks," Guardiola said according to the club's website
"Maybe he can play against Spurs, but we don't know just yet and if he can't, he will be fine for West Ham."
No comments:
Post a Comment