Mourinho to make a meal of Pep?
Tottenham take on Man City on Sunday as Spurs continue to search for a way to replace Harry Kane. Can they cause a shock and take three points of Pep Guardiola’s side? Have a read of our preview here:
Eriksen move brings Mourinho’s wrath
Well, we all knew it was going to happen. Spurs have had plenty of time to prepare for it but when Inter came in for Christian Eriksen with just under a week of the transfer window remaining, Jose Mourinho acted like a man who’d just been told water is wet.
His shock and anger about the timing seemed almost stranger than seeing Inter actually making good recruitment decisions.
"Tottenham is the last one to blame for this situation," said the Portuguese manager.
"I just want to say that this situation shouldn't happen on 25 January.
"The only thing I can say is Eriksen, since I arrive, he is behaving in a very, very professional way, with me and the team.
"But to be on 25 January in a situation like this is not nice."
Not nice Jose, but rather weak compared to some actions that take place in the ruthless world of professional football.
Giovanni Lo Celso’s loan move from Betis was made permanent and you’d expect to see Spurs make some big transfer moves in the next couple of windows as they look to give the squad strength in depth, something they clearly lack compared to their main Premier League rivals.
It will be a case of absorbing what City throw at them and trying to get Son Heung-Min away on the counter but without Eriksen and Kane, Spurs are not what they could be.
City in second gear
Pep Guardiola’s comments about the need for ‘B’ teams demonstrated a clear lack of understanding about English football. The cherished pyramid, unique to these isles, have been the bedrock of the game in this country for more than a century.
Let’s hope the elitism at the top of the game does not erode something with more value than the Premier League’s hype and glam fakery.
City themselves are not exactly ripping things up considering they have spent the GDP of a moderate country on players over the last few seasons. A lack of defensive quality has done for them this season and left them eating Liverpool’s dust.
They have lost five times this season, one more than they did in the whole of 2018-19 but you can expect them to make big moves in the summer to rectify the weaknesses they have in defence.
They should be able to beat Tottenham but it will be a tight game and they may have to remain patient in order to secure the points in London on Sunday.
Spurs vs Man City betting tip
Tottenham are lacking attacking thrust due to injuries right now, so will have to sit back and try to pick City off on the counter. With that in mind, we are backing this one to finish with under 2.5 goals at odds of 7/4 with bet365.
