Tottenham projected starting XI v Manchester City: Pochettino will attack Guardiola

Tottenham won’t be afraid to attack Manchester City

You certainly couldn’t blame any Premier League side for electing to park the bus at Manchester City. That just isn’t in Mauricio Pochettino’s DNA though. Instead, he’ll field a very attack-minded starting XI for his clash against Pep Guardiola’s side.

That does not mean, however, that Pochettino will be playing a naive lineup. There will still be plenty of defensive talent on the pitch for Spurs as well. My point here is that Pochettino will not switch to some sort of Draconian formation designed to bog the game down in the mud.

In other words, expect Pochettino to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation he’s utilized in recent weeks. That lineup should give him the proper mix of positivity and caution to present City with real problems. At the very least, Pep’s side will need to labour if they intend to break down Spurs’ stingy defense.

Of course, Tottenham would feel better going into this match with their full complement of stars. Unfortunately, defensive stalwarts Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Davinson Sanchez will all miss out. Alderweireld and Wanyama are still recovering from injury while Sanchez will serve the second of his three match ban for his reckless challenge against Watford.

Spurs won’t use those absences as excuses. Here are the 11 men Pochettino will trot out to put a halt to City’s stellar run of form.