Riyad Mahrez was the difference maker between these sides in the reverse fixture and I’m tipping him to dominate Perisic down the right flank again. Mahrez is in a fine spell of form with 9 goal contributions in his last 9 games since the World Cup. In a 35 minute cameo away at Chelsea, Mahrez netted the winner in a 1-0 victory before burying a brace against the same opponents 3 days later. His 2 goals and 1 assist against Spurs was the highlight of this run, showing more than just his goal scoring threat.

Spurs operate in a back 3 in possession and back 5 out of possession which usually means that wingers are easily double marked by a combination of the wing back and outside centre half. The presence of Erling Haaland defies this as the outside centre backs have to tuck in more to not allow the Norwegian to isolate the middle centre back. Christian Romero is arguably Spurs’ best centre half and lines up on the far side from Mahrez who will be driving at the likes of Ben Davies, not conventionally a centre back. He had 4 shots at the Etihad against Spurs, with 2 hitting the target. Mahrez may not be as clinical this time out but I’m backing him to hit the target.

Ilkay Gundogan is one of the more under rated players in this City front 6 purely due to the bags of riches they have going forward. With Rodri screening the back line, Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne are given more freedom in the advanced 8 roles they play in. With all the focus on de Bruyne’s attacking talent, Gundogan often gets forgotten and is therefore great value for a Shot on Target.

Gundogan has been in excellent positions recently, getting shots away but failing to hit the target. The FA Cup tie against Arsenal, where City deployed him in a deeper role, was the first time Gundogan didn’t have a shot since the 1st December in a 56 minute cameo against Costa Rice. Spurs’ 3-4-3 dropped into more of 5-4-1 against City last time and I expect them to play a low block, with the centre midfielders dropping to stop the passing lanes into Haaland. Gundogan’s isn’t shy of shooting with 2.24 shots per game and if given the space by Spurs’ midfield should test Lloris.

Turning away from the Shots on Target markets, my final selection is Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to have a pop at goal at some point in this game. The Midfielder averages 0.98 shots per game in the PL this season and managed two in his last game against a side similar to City in the dominant and possession heavy Arsenal.

Spurs will be expected to retreat into their shell with a back 5 and another bank of 4 in front when City come to play. This should lead to whatever combination of Son, Richarlison, Kulusevski and Danjuma being fairly limited, focusing more on defensive duties as a priority. When Spurs play like this, against big sides, Hojbjerg is more of an attacking threat. A shot on target against Liverpool and Chelsea, and 2 shots in both games v Arsenal show this. If Spurs try and break out and counter, Hojbjerg is likely to be the one waiting on the edge for a cut back as Kane drags Rodri and co. into the area.