After a dominant 5-0 victory over Sporting, it’s a return to Premier League action for Manchester City on Saturday. They’re welcoming eighth-place Tottenham to the Etihad and will look to continue their march to the Premier League title.
Can Antonio Conte delay the inevitable and push Spurs further up the table? Don’t miss our Man City vs. Tottenham tips and predictions to find out.
Manchester City vs Tottenham match odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Manchester City vs Tottenham betting tips
Predictions made on 2/16/2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Manchester City vs Tottenham game info
• Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
• Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022
• Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Peacock, DAZN
Manchester City vs Tottenham betting preview
Weather
It’s going to be a stereotypical Manchester day when this game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Heavy rain is forecast all day with temperatures in the low 40s too.
Injuries
Man City: No injuries to report.
Tottenham: Eric Dier CB (Probable), Oliver Skipp DM (Doubtful), Japhet Tanganga CB (Out).
Manchester City vs Tottenham predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Side analysis
Manchester City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad in Saturday’s final Premier League fixture in a game they’re heavy -350 favorites to win at the time of this writing (the moneyline has since ballooned to Man City -418). Man City are in ruthless form having beaten relegation candidates Norwich 4-0 last Saturday and beaten Sporting CP 5-0 away from home midweek.
Man City have looked monstrous in those games and with the Premier League title already feeling like a formality, it’s now starting to feel like it’ll finally be their year in Europe, too. With the team playing so well, it’s hard to pick one player who is above all the others but Raheem Sterling has been sensational. After a slow start to the season, he’s playing at the level we saw from him in an England shirt last summer and he’s added goals to his game. With four tallies in the last two games, he’s now 10th on Man City’s all-time goalscorers list. Sterling is one of the best players in the world game and it’s staggering how often he’s been taken for granted by both club and country. At +130 to score on Saturday, it’s clear that the bookmakers aren’t underestimating his ability.
City’s gulf of attacking riches is superior to anybody else in the Premier League — if not all of Europe — with Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden joining Sterling with goals in their midweek romp of Sporting.
Antonio Conte could only dream of having those attackers at Tottenham, but the reality is that both Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min are elite and Spurs should probably be doing better than they are. The Italian hasn’t had the immediate success many expected since arriving in North London but there are clear signs of improvement and now he’s had a transfer window to bring in some of his own targets.
Conte has traditionally had success against big clubs and has already managed to hold Liverpool to a draw in his short time at Spurs, although the club has suffered embarrassing results to rivals Chelsea. So how can Conte stop City? The answer is difficult.
We haven’t seen anybody really manage to stop Pep Guardiola’s current iteration of Man City on a regular basis but Conte will set his team up in his favored 3-4-3 formation and rely on Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal to join the attack while also slotting back in and helping protect against whoever is on the flanks for City, which will likely be Sterling and Mahrez. Reguilon looks like a Conte player and has been solid this year but Royal hasn’t shown much to justify his price tag. Given the opposition on Saturday, he needs to have an improved performance.
One thing we know about Antonio Conte is that he likes his teams well-drilled and organized, and he picks players who understand his demands over those who may be technically better. Oliver Skipp — if he plays — is likely to be tasked, alongside Rodrigo Bentancur, with neutralizing Man City's midfield.
Make no mistake, this is a tough game for Tottenham and they are rightly underdogs, but the odds look slightly wrong. City are -350 favorites and although they should win, I can’t justify backing them at that price when facing a Conte team. Conte is a coach who has the ability to out-scheme Guardiola. A Spurs win at +900 is unlikely but I find myself looking at the +500 odds on the draw and thinking it offers the best value. This is the way to go, albeit with a small stake.
Prediction: Draw (+500)
Over/Under analysis
If Spurs have any hope of getting back to London with even a point, they need to go into this game with a defensive mindset. You won’t go to the Etihad and outplay City. It’s just not happening with either team in their current form.
Instead, you need to play a chess game with City, sit back and soak up pressure, attack at the right times, and try to hit them on the counter when they’ve moved key players out of position. We know how good Conte is at setting up his teams and I expect him to make sure they keep this low scoring.
I see this either being a low-scoring draw or a small Man City victory. I don’t think they’ll be able to run over Tottenham in the same manner they did Norwich last weekend. City, despite their immense goal threat, have only gone Over 2.5 goals in half of their home Premier League games this year, and I’d back Conte’s Spurs to help extend that trend here.
Prediction: Under 2.5 goals (+137)
Best bet
One thing I’m convinced of in this game is we’re going to see some Spurs players booked. Anthony Taylor will be officiating and he’s averaged four yellow cards per game and a red card in every four games across his 16 Premier League contests this season.
Spurs are capable of finding themselves in the book, too, picking up three yellows in their loss to Wolves last weekend. The question is, who do we believe will get booked? Christian Romero is certainly a candidate with five bookings this year. As is Oliver Skipp, who leads the team with six, although you can’t be 100% certain that he’ll start. Emerson Royal is another who could find himself getting his name written in the book, especially given that he’ll have to deal Raheem Sterling and the advancing Joao Cancelo.
Two other names that leap out are Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, who each arrived in the January windows and both got booked last week. We’ll be backing Bentancur and at +300 odds, he’s a great price. The Uruguayan has looked great in a Spurs shirt and it’s clear already that he’s the best central midfielder on the books, so I expect him to start. That said, he’s still getting accustomed to the Premier League and is more likely to get booked as he gets used to the style of play and officiating. He’s going to spend the game battling with Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, which also seriously boosts his chances of getting a card.
He only picked up one yellow with Juventus in Serie A before his move to North London but it’s worth noting that in the three full seasons preceding that, he had six, nine, and seven, respectively. He’s a player who can make a rash challenge and will be battling against some of the best midfielders on the planet. Grab that +300 while you can.
Pick: Rodrigo Bentancur to get booked (+300)
