It’s Time for Manchester City to Take the EFL Cup Seriously

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

Manchester City enter the grueling part of their schedule, as they will play four matches in the next 11 days, starting with an EFL Cup Round of 16 matchup against Tottenham on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola’s men are fresh from a narrow 1-0 victory against Southampton last Saturday to reclaim the lead in the Premier League standings, and they recently received the good news that one of their stars, Rodri, won the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

The Sky Blues haven’t had much success in this particular competition in the past few years. But make no mistake about it, Manchester City are capable of winning it all if they put their minds into it.

Meanwhile, Tottenham aim to return to winning ways after losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace on Sunday, and perhaps this tournament is their best chance of putting an end to their long trophy drought.

 

Talking Points

Moore’s time to shine at Tottenham

Team captain Heung-Min Son will likely stay on the sidelines on Wednesday because he hasn’t fully recovered from his thigh injury. As a result, Mikey Moore could be in line for another starting nod against Manchester City.

Mikey Moore completed his first start in all competitions this season during their 1-0 win against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League. The 17-year-old academy graduate didn’t find the back of the net, but he impressed his colleagues just enough to gain another starting nod at Selhurst Park last time out.

James Maddison playfully compared Mikey Moore to Neymar because of the youngster’s “fearless” performance against AZ Alkmaar. However, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou doesn’t want to overhype the kid too much.

Mikey Moore will likely be joined by Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson up front, as Postecoglou rotates his lineup.

Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies will likely replace Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, and Micky van de Ven in the starting lineup for their defence, while we won’t be surprised if Postecoglou starts Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr to replace Dejan Kulusevski and Yves Bissouma in the middle of the park.

 

Expect numerous rotations from Manchester City

Pep Guardiola could lean on the academy again against Tottenham because of their growing injury list.

Kevin De Bruyne (groin), Kyle Walker (thigh), Oscar Bobb (leg), and Rodri (knee) will remain on the sidelines for the Sky Blues, so Guardiola could call on Kaden Braithwaite, Nico O’Reilly, Rico Lewis, and James McAtee for spots in the starting XI once again.

The last time these four youngsters started together was during their 2-1 win over Watford in the previous round, which saw Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes scoring one goal each.

John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan could get their starting spots back after coming off the bench against Southampton, while Nathan Ake is another option after not playing at all.

Erling Haaland and Ederson might take the night off in favour of putting Phil Foden at the No. 9 position and Stefan Ortega between the sticks.

 

History

Tottenham and Manchester City have faced off three times last season, with the Sky Blues going undefeated.

After being held to a 3-3 draw in December 2023, Manchester City beat Tottenham 1-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup in January before a 2-0 result in their last Premier League meeting in May.

After a period of domination during the late 2010s and early 2020s, Manchester City have exited the EFL Cup at the quarter-finals or earlier in two of the last three seasons after winning it in 2021. They are the second-winningest club in the competition’s history with eight trophies.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have won the EFL Cup four times in their history. However, the Spurs’ last triumph dates back to 2008, and they haven’t won anything significant since.

 

Betting Tip

The EFL Cup 2024 odds predict a close fight between Manchester City and Tottenham. Of course, Pep Guardiola’s men have the slight edge at 2.29, but the Spurs aren’t far behind at 2.51, and a draw is at 3.49 in the 1X2 market.

Despite missing several key men, Manchester City should advance to the next round because of their superb form, which explains our recommended bet above.

SBOTOP bettors can also expect their share of EFL Cup 2024 highlights because of the combined firepower of these two sides.

Over 3.00 at 1.72 and Over 3.25 at 1.97 are also available. Total Goals 2-3 at 2.15 and Total Goals 4-6 at 2.38 are also worth considering because of their better offers.

   

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