Analysing Spurs ahead of this Sunday’s Premier League trip | OneFootball

A closer look at the side we’ll face this coming Sunday…

Men's Team

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We face Tottenham Hotspur in north London at 16:30 (UK) on Sunday 1 February.

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After our first league win of 2026 in our last Premier League outing, we’ll be looking to build on that success and keep tabs on Arsenal at the top of the table.

With the help of Opta data, we find out what to expect from our hosts.

Recent form

Spurs are winless in their last five Premier League matches – drawing three and losing two. It’s their fourth run of five or more winless games in the last two seasons.

They only had four runs of five or more winless games across their previous 12 seasons combined from 2012/13 to 2023/24.

They are 14th in the Premier League, with 28 points from 23 outings.

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Preferred formation

Spurs have often favoured a 4-2-3-1 but played a 3-4-3 in their most recent Premier League outing.

Guglielmo Vicario is the number one in goal, with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero regulars at the heart of the defence.

Any combination of Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro can feature at full-back, while there are a plethora of options in midfield including new signing Conor Gallagher, Joao Palhinha, Archie Gray, Yves Bissouma and others.

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Ahead of them, Xavi Simons has been used often in his first season in England while the likes of Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel tend to help support Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke up top.

They are suffering a few significant injuries in attacking midfield areas, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus.

Manager

Thomas Frank was the Premier League’s second longest serving manager behind only Pep Guardiola before leaving Brentford last summer.

The 52-year-old Dane had established the Bees in the Premier League after taking them to promotion.

He’s found life a little tougher at Spurs domestically, winning just four of his last 22 Premier League home games. Despite that, he guided them into the top eight of the Champions League league phase.

In total in the Premier League, he’s won 61 of 175 matches in charge, scoring 261 goals and conceding 255.

Head-to-head record

After a long run of difficult trips to Spurs, we have won our last two away league trips there.

In fact, 14 of Spurs’ last 15 goals against us have come at the Etihad rather than the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With eight defeats, Pep Guardiola has lost more league games against Spurs than any other opponent in his managerial career.

Spurs have won 30 of the 57 meetings in the Premier League era, with City victorious 19 times.

In our competitive histories, the two sides are neck and neck with 69 wins each and 37 draws.

How they attack

Spurs are the league’s outstanding side in terms of outperforming their xG. Their 33 goals have come from an xG of just 24 – a nine-goal difference.

That could perhaps be partly explained by their lack of shots, with their 253 only the 14th most in the division.

With 10 headed goals, they are the division’s most threatening side aerially. That is a key part of their league leading threat from corners, scoring 12 times via that means so far.

Meanwhile, with 13 different scorers, only Brighton can better the expectation of goals from all over the pitch.

With 425 passes per match and an average possession of 51.6%, they’re not particularly focused on keeping the ball but they’re not quite as direct as Frank’s Brentford sides were known to be.

Richarlison is their top scorer with seven, while centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are next with four each.

How they defend

In opposition to their attacking numbers, Spurs are conceding goals largely at the rate you’d expect when judging by xG.

Their 31 goals let in so far is the ninth best defence in the division and from an xG of 31.3, meaning that they are conceding about as often as you’d expect for the quality of chances they are allowing.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is very much middle of the pack across the Premier League when it comes to save percentage, with 65.6% of shots on his goal being stopped.

As with their threat offensively from set pieces, they are also adept at keeping them out. Their six goals let in from dead balls is the second best in the division, only behind Arsenal.

It will be worth keeping an eye on Spurs’ yellow card count, as with 58 so far they’re the joint most cautioned team across the league alongside Brighton.

City v Newcastle Second leg tickets available!

See the conclusion of what promises to be a thrilling final four tie at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday 4 February.

Newcastle are the holders of the Carabao Cup and will be determined to hold on to their crown, while City are seeking a ninth success in League Cup history.

Tickets start from £20 for adults and £10 for concessions, while a wide range of hospitality packages starting from £250 are also on offer to make it a special occasion!

*On sale to Season Ticket Members and existing Cityzens Matchday and Junior Members (as of Tue 16 Dec 2025) who have purchased 1+ home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium. 4 tickets per person.

Get your tickets here!