Manchester City are used to facing opponents’ low-ball lineups, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against Tottenham Hotspur.
Very few clubs in the Premier League are brave enough to pressure Man City by playing high pressing to give their defenders no time to develop the ball. But Tottenham Hotspur is expected to play this way against the defending champions.
Ange Postecoglou has stated that he will not change his tactical approach, even without the services of his preferred centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
The most obvious way to deal with teams willing to take risks with their high defense is to play passes in behind their defensive line for the pacey strikers to exploit.
Haaland, one of the fastest and strongest strikers in world football today, will certainly like this way of playing. The Norwegian has made 363 runs without the ball this season, the seventh highest of any Premier League player, and in 32.5% of those moves he will receive the ball from a teammate.
Foden also made many incredible runs without the ball, so Spurs’ defense will certainly face a huge challenge in this encounter. They will have to pay special attention to Alvarez and Foden when these two players move into the midfield.
If space is revealed, both with good technique will find a way to put Haaland in a situation facing the goalkeeper. The 23-year-old striker’s goal against Fulham below is typical of the way this trio penetrates the opponent’s defense.
Tottenham under Postecoglou is an excellent high-pressing team. They have five goals from those situations, and no team has taken more shots or scored more goals than them. But Spurs will have to execute that play perfectly in this match.
Arsenal played this way in all three meetings with Man City last season and they all lost for many reasons, but the most basic one is that Pep is more skilled in coming up with counter-attack tactics.
Guardiola’s wingers will stick close to the touchline and make the field feel wider. If Tottenham does not create enough pressure to close all the gaps, they will be left behind by Manchester City’s defenders or midfielders and will then launch slit passes to Haaland’s position like what happened in the match. situation in the match against Arsenal last season.
With Jeremy Doku, Foden or Jack Grealish, it is clear that Pep has the right personnel for this style of play, and he will certainly ask his students to use it in the match against Spurs.
Manchester City can also take advantage of the Brazilian goalkeeper’s ability to play with his feet to relieve pressure from Son Heung-min and his teammates in case of need.
Ederson’s long pass success rate is very impressive at 52.8% – the highest among goalkeepers in the Premier League. It is a very powerful weapon, especially when they have a tall and fast Haaland above them.
Tottenham’s somewhat bold and aggressive playing style will cause the defending champions many difficulties, but Man City certainly has a chance. If Pep’s students play with their usual form, they will be able to neutralize Postecoglou’s strategy.
This is a Super Sunday match worth watching, and if not careful, Spurs will likely have their fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Guardiola definitely wants 3 points at home to compete with Arsenal for the top spot in the rankings.