Man City vs Tottenham tips and predictions: Is the Thomas Frank bubble about to burst?

Manchester City state of play 

Pep Guardiola’s side kicked off their 2025/26 campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win over Wolves at Molineux. 

The Catalan coach, as expected, made some bold decisions ahead of the game, naming Oscar Bobb and Rico Lewis in the starting XI while dropping the likes of Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush to the bench.

It, of course, worked out for Guardiola, with Lewis and Bobb claiming assists. 

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Erling Haaland netted a double and summer signing Tijjani Reijnders carried his pre-season form into the league, scoring and assisting in what was a quite impactful debut. 

Tottenham Hotspur state of play

Spurs kicked off the Thomas Frank era with a 3-0 win over Burnley. Richarlison looks like a player reborn under the former Brentford manager, netting twice against Scott Parker’s men. One of his efforts was even described as a goal of the season contender. 

New signing Mohammed Kudus impressed on his first Premier League outing for the Europa League winners, claiming two assists. 

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Tottenham Hotspur had looked to bolster their attacking options this week with the signing of Eberechi Eze but that deal was hijacked late on by North London rivals Arsenal. 

Yoane Wissa is believed to be on the club’s radar, as is Harvey Elliott. For now, though, it’s the same squad that faced Burnley. 

Key talking point: Can Guglielmo Vicario repeat his Burnley heroics? 

At a glance, the win over Burnley last week was a routine one. Spurs had more chances and a lot more of the ball (68%). It was the perfect first match for Frank and his players in their new-look system. 

However, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as that. Burnley had a total of 14 shots, just two fewer than their hosts, and worked Vicario on four occasions. 

The Tottenham keeper faced shots with an expected goals on target total of 1.07 and was even given an FPL bonus because of his exploits between the sticks. 

Of the 14 shots Spurs faced, four were from 12 yards or closer. They gave up high value efforts against a team many are tipping to be relegated. They can’t be doing that against Manchester City on Saturday. 

FIRST’s top tip

Pick: Tijjani Reijnders to be booked anytime in the match - 4/1 (Ladbrokes)

A match part of our four-fold weekly acca, we’re thinking Reijnders looks good value to be booked, with Ladbrokes offering 4/1 on the former Milan man to pick up a yellow card at the Etihad stadium. He committed three fouls against Wolves and lost the most duels. 

Extra tips

Cristian Romero to pick up a booking at 6/4 looks like good value. The Spurs skipper is prone to being a little aggressive and he’s going to want to put himself about against Erling Haaland. 

We’re also looking at Richarlison to have 3+ shots against City having attempted five in 71 minutes against Burnley. 

Pick: Cristian Romero to be booked anytime in the match - 6/4 (Ladbrokes)

Pick: Richarlison to have 3+ shots in the match - 13/10 (Ladbrokes)

Team news

Josko Gvardiol is back training for Man City but is expected to miss out while Claudio Echeverri, who missed the game against Wolves with an injury, has been loaned to Bayer Leverkusen. 

Ederson and Manuel Akanji should miss out with both potentially leaving the club before the window closes. 

For Spurs, Joao Palhinha could make his first start for the club following his arrival from Bayern Munich. Destiny Udogie is a doubt after a limited pre-season, while Yves Bissouma is set to miss out with a knee injury. 

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur predicted line-ups 

Manchester City: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Reijnders, Gonzalez, Silva; Bobb, Haaland, Doku (4-3-3)

Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Gray, Bergvall; Kudus, Richarlison, Johnson (4-3-3)

Form guide

Manchester City: WDLWWWWWLW

Tottenham Hotspur: LWDWLLWLDW

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Odds correct at the time of writing.