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It’s only the second week of the season, but Saturday brings one of the biggest tests of Tottenham’s 2019/20 Premier League campaign.
Spurs will be up north to face Manchester City, the defending champions, at the Etihad Stadium. City dominated in a 5-0 win over West Ham last weekend, while Tottenham left it a bit late against newly-promoted Aston Villa.
If Mauricio Pochettino’s side are going to pull of the upset, they’ll need to do so without the same key players they were missing for the Villa match. The team news is in.
TEAM NEWS:
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 16, 2019
@RyanSessegnon & @dele_official (hamstring) - unavailable, undertaking on-field rehab.
Heung-Min Son (suspended) - serving final game of ban.
@JuanMFoyth (ankle and suspended) - serving final game of ban and continuing rehab. #THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/cThIlEm45E
Giovani Lo Celso could be set for his first appearance in the squad. It has now been eight days since he signed, so he’s had a bit of time in training now to familiarize himself with his teammates and with the way that Pochettino does things. Throwing him in to start against Man City might be asking too much, but he should have a place on the bench.
Dele Alli’s hamstring hasn’t recovered enough yet for him to return to action. This match is big, but September 1st’s North London Derby with Arsenal also looms large on the horizon. Hopefully Dele is back for that.
Heung-Min Son is probably itching to return to the pitch after his red card against Bournemouth last season will keep him out of this game too. That’s a shame. Sonny had two goals when Spurs played Manchester City on that famous VAR-assisted April night in the Champions League.
Ryan Sessegnon’s injury was picked up on England U-21 duty this summer. There’s no use rushing him back, as he’s still a new player and is one for the future.
The good news for Juan Foyth is that his injury isn’t as bad as it initially seemed. He should be back in training sometime in September, according to Poch.
A result against Manchester City on the road is always a tough ask for Spurs. Plus, this year, you have to think City will be especially fired-up after the dramatic way they were dumped out of the Champions League by the Lilywhites last season. A point would be a great result to bring home to North London.