Man City aim to end four-game losing run in crunch Tottenham clash – follow live

Ange Postecoglou insists his Tottenham squad will not be “down in the dumps” ahead of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City despite Rodrigo Bentancur being the latest player to join the list of absentees.

Bentancur has been given a seven-match domestic suspension by the Football Association for the use of racist language during a media interview earlier this year and while Spurs have appealed against the length of ban, the Uruguay international will definitely sit out the Etihad Stadium clash.

“It’s really important when they come back here again we move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou reflected, with reference to the 2-1 home loss to Ipswich before the international break.

“They understand we still have to do our review and we did that. We looked back at the areas we need to be better, but I don’t get the sense the lads are down in the dumps in any way.”

Man City – Ederson, Walker, Stones, Gvardiol, Lewis, Akanji, Savio, Foden, Gundogan, Silva, Haaland

Spurs – Vicario, Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison, Solanke, Son

Tottenham will face Manchester City and Erling Haaland without their first-choice centre-back partnership, with vice-captain Cristian Romero forced to return early from national team duty due to his ongoing toe issue which will rule him out of the fixture against Pep Guardiola’s side. It adds to Micky van de Ven’s absence, with the defender sidelined for another couple of weeks.

It could seem a rare vote of confidence when a club on a record losing run gives a manager a new contract. Then again, when the manager is Pep Guardiola, his longest sequence of defeats only stands at four; so does his unique chain of English league titles.

So if it is a vote of confidence, it is by Guardiola in Manchester City and not vice versa. There were reasons for the manager to walk away; some would say, 115 of them. Guardiola’s decision to commit himself to the club for a further year, until 2026, and, with a one-season option on top of that, seems to reflect a belief that City will emerge completely or relatively unscathed from the hearing into the Premier League’s century of charges.

Guardiola has tended to be bullishly outspoken in the club’s defence, even though he is not in the dock personally and most of the alleged offences predate his arrival. Guardiola said in September the rest of football wanted City to “disappear off the face of the earth”. A new deal nevertheless indicates he does not expect next autumn’s fixture list to contain Plymouth and Preston, let alone Braintree and Boston.

Pep Guardiola has stated his determination to lead Manchester City back to the top even if they are relegated to the National League over alleged financial irregularities.

The City manager this week ended speculation over his immediate future by extending his contract with the club he has guided to six Premier League titles through to the summer of 2027.

The news has given the champions a lift at a time of huge uncertainty off the field. The club are currently battling 115 charges of alleged rule-breaking following an investigation into their financial affairs.

City deny all wrongdoing but, if found guilty, they could face a severe punishment, including the possibility of relegation.

Guardiola, who revealed his contract negotiations were concluded in two hours, said: “I said six months ago, not because now I’ve extended my contract.

“I said when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, (and people asked) what happens if we are relegated, (I said) I will be here.

“Next year, I don’t know the position of the Conference they are going to (put) us, (but) we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.”

“When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations. You’re able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time you’re able to win four Premier Leagues in a row. The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it’s happened.

“We have to break the situation [against Tottenham]. We have to start winning games. Tomorrow we are coming back at home so hopefully we can perform well and start to take our rhythm.”

Micky van de Ven remains out with a hamstring injury, which could sideline the centre-back for another couple of weeks. Cristian Romero is also out for this weekend, which means Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies will continue to deputise in defence. Rodrigo Bentancur will serve the first match of his seven-game ban, following a comment made about team-mate Son Heung Min.

Mateo Kovacic has been ruled out for up to a month while Ruben Dias is out for the Tottenham game, adding to Manchester City’s injury concerns. Rodri is out for the season but Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could be fit again after missing England duty. John Stones and Manuel Akanji should be available while Nathan Ake has returned to training.

The Premier League fixture kicks off at 5:30pm GMT at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Man City vs TottenhamTV channel and how to watch

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The champions fell further behind leaders Liverpool before the international break with a shock 2-1 defeat to Brighton, that extended Guardiola’s worst-ever run of results.

City’s losing streak began with a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, but Ange Postecoglou’s team have continued to suffer with inconsistency.

Spurs were stunned by Ipswich before the international break, with the newly promoted side earning their first win of the season in north London.

It leaves Spurs in mid-table, while City will look to get their title defence going again by ending their poor run of form.