Tottenham Hotspur host a low-on-confidence Manchester City side on Wednesday night, hoping to make it four Premier League wins in a row.After two weekend games, Spurs are back to playing midweek, this time hosting Manchester City at home.Dr. Tottenham has a very unusual visitor this week. The reigning champions, winners of the last four Premier League titles, now find themselves 20 points off the top spot. Although the doctor himself hasn’t shown up in the entire month of February, this might just be the dose Manchester City need. However, Spurs fans will hope the doctor remains on leave for another week (at least).How both teams go into Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester CityWhat a February Spurs are having in terms of their league form. Especially, after losing every single league game in January, this run of form has been a breath of fresh air for the fans. Spurs have now won three consecutive Premier League games; first against Brentford before back-to-back cup exits, then a 1-0 win over Manchester United, and most recently, a 4-1 away victory at Ipswich Town. A lot of credit for this turnaround goes to Ange Postecoglou finally having his players back from injury. In their last five matches in all competitions, Spurs have won three (all in the league) and lost two (cup defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa).As for their opponents, Manchester City aren’t exactly where they planned to be at this stage of the season. Once strong title contenders, they now sit in 4th place (surprisingly) and 20 points behind leaders Liverpool. While 4th place in the Premier League is far from disastrous, it is unusual to see a Pep Guardiola side three points behind Nottingham Forest. City come into this fixture from a Champions League heartbreak, exiting at the hands of Real Madrid with a 6-3 aggregate loss (1-3 in the second leg). That was followed by a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League most recently. They have now lost four of their last six fixtures in all competitions. Understandably, the visitors arrive in North London low on confidence.Most importantly, they don’t enjoy playing Spurs (at all), especially away from home. Spurs faced Manchester City twice this season and have won both. First a 2-1 victory in the Carabao Cup (where City’s downfall arguably began) and then a 4-0 win at the Etihad in the reverse fixture.Photo by SpursWebTottenham team newsNo new injuries or doubts emerged after the win against Ipswich, but we will wait for Ange Postecoglou’s pre-match press conference.The confirmed absentees for this fixture as per the latest updates are Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin, Richarlison, Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero. However, Van de Ven and Romero are nearing a return. Ange Postecoglou hopes to have them available for the Europa League tie against AZ Alkmaar next week. However, a few pictures uploaded on Shutterstock recently showed Romero was spotted training with the rest of the Tottenham team.Timo Werner may return for this fixture, but further updates will be provided closer to kick-off.Manchester City team newsPep Guardiola remains uncertain about Erling Haaland’s availability, as the Norwegian missed both the Real Madrid and Liverpool games. However, he has been training with the team.City will be without John Stones, Oscar Bobb, Manuel Akanji, and Rodri.Predicted Tottenham lineupVicario; Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Kulusevski, Bergvall, Maddison; Johnson, Tel, SonArchie Gray could start over Ben Davies, as seen against Ipswich. However, Ange Postecoglou may prefer to rely on Davies against City’s attack rather than the 18-year-old. Destiny Udogie started over Porro at the weekend, but Porro and Spence are more likely to get the nod as fullbacks this time.Bergvall, Maddison, and Bentancur are expected to retain their spots in midfield. But Yves Bissouma or Pape Matar Sarr could also start over any of them, though they are more likely to come off the bench.As much of a hard time we had in predicting this lineup, Postecoglou will be the one having a bigger headache over his starting XI given the number of options available to him.Our insights into Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester CityThe form and head-to-head record favour Spurs, but you can never rule out a Pep Guardiola masterclass. Given their recent struggles, City are desperate to turn things around, so this won’t be an easy ride for Postecoglou’s men.We’ve analysed City’s recent performances, and here’s what we’ve drawn from their struggles:Against both Real Madrid and Liverpool, City had more possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances for large parts of the game. The pattern is clear; they only seem to struggle when trailing. Where am I going with this? Spurs should try and look to lead early on.Against Liverpool, it looked like City stretched their opponents’ defence. But in reality, Liverpool smartly controlled the central areas, forcing City to play the ball wide and deliver hopeful crosses. Most of City’s action came from wide positions so Spurs’ full-backs should stay aware. Spurs must either double-mark City’s wingers or maintain close distances to limit their crossing options.City also like to create chances by sending a runner into the box and delivering long balls or through passes. Haaland and Marmoush both thrive in these situations. Spurs must avoid leaving space behind and be alert to intercept before things go out of control.Liverpool kept all 11 players behind the ball when out of possession, frustrating Guardiola’s side. City had almost four times as many final-third passes as Liverpool yet failed to create a single big chance. While Ange Postecoglou’s philosophy is very different from this, he has occasionally asked his team to sit back and counter. An example would be most recently when Spurs were two goals up against Ipswich and they managed to get their 4th by Dejan Kulusevski from a counter. It would be wise for Spurs to do something similar this time as well.Our predictionThere was a time (not long ago) when teams feared facing Pep Guardiola’s Manchester. But now, opponents have started to replicate aspects of their playstyle and counter their high-pressing approach. This has left City looking clueless; a situation Spurs fans know all too well when facing a low block or when trailing in goals.For Spurs, watch out for Dejan Kulusevski. Fans may want him to get some rest, but he almost always delivers against Manchester City. He found the net against Ipswich, which should boost his confidence after a slight dip in his form of late.Djed Spence is the man of the moment and will have eyes on him. James Maddison; who bagged a brace against City in the reverse fixture will be another player to watch out for.For City, Kevin De Bruyne has been struggling lately, but you never doubt a magician’s ability. Something about this fixture suggests it might be the game he rediscovers his form. Meanwhile, Omar Marmoush is having a dream European season, contributing 36 goal involvements, including a hat trick against Newcastle. He is known for being able to finish from the tightest of angles which makes him a real threat. If Spurs win this, they will have painted Manchester white. Winning all six encounters against the two Manchester clubs in a single season would be historic. Additionally, Ange Postecoglou could finally reclaim the Premier League Manager of the Month award, last winning it in October 2023. The reason is that Spurs would be the only team to have won every Premier League game in February.While a win wouldn’t alter Spurs’ league position this week, a loss could see them drop as low as 14th if Everton and Crystal Palace both win.Predicted score: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Manchester City. COYS!The post Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City: Team news and Premier League preview appeared first on Spurs Web.