Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur 11/11/12: Preview

David Silva could return for Manchester City against Spurs

With Manchester United completing a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, Manchester City come to a vital game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, knowing that only a win will keep them within touching distance of their rivals who currently stand 5 points clear of City at the top of the Premier League Table.

With David Silva, Maicon and Joleon Lescott expected to return, the Champions could field a potentially strong side against an on-and-off Spurs side, who last week lost at home to Wigan Athletic. However, City have Micah Richards, James Milner and Jack Rodwell all out with injuries. 

Although the Citizens haven't been in particularly sensational form either, I think that we could potentially "wake up" tomorrow and with Spurs' defence not particularly strong at present in the league, Agüero, Tevez and Silva could wreck havoc in the opposition's half. 

City showed in midweek against Ajax that they can cause problems at goal, but a consistent goalscorer has not yet been established for us and this is slightly concerning. It was Agüero last season and Tevez the year before that, but we are still yet to discover our "Van Persie" or "Michu". 

City have looked especially shaky from set-pieces in the opening stages of the season, due to our unresolved problems caused by zonal marking, which I still can't understand. Adebayor and Defoe, presuming they start, good utilise this tactic from Bale's dangerous corners and punish our defence. 

Yaya Toure, who earlier this week said, "'I want to make history with this club, I want to end my career here," looked extremely threatening in an advanced role against both West Ham United and Ajax. His occasional bursts of pace and strength are often unmatched and he can both score goals and pass the ball well. I think he can play a pivotal role against Spurs and positively influence the game and affect the outcome of the game.

With City looking for a fourth consecutive win over Spurs, here are my predicted line-ups:

• Manchester City (4-2-3-1)

Joe Hart

Pablo Zabaleta

Vincent Kompany

Matija Nastasic

Gael Clichy

Javi Garcia

Gareth Barry

David Silva

Yaya Toure

Sergio Agüero

Carlos Tevez

• Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2)

Brad Friedel

Jan Vertonghen

William Gallas

Michael Dawson

Kyle Walker

Gareth Bale

Tom Huddlestone

Sandro

Aaron Lennon

Jermaine Defoe

Emmanuel Adebayor

I definitely think that City will win, and I think we will win comfortably. Therefore, I am going to predict a 4-1 win for Manchester City. (Goalscorers- Agüero x2, Tevez, Yaya Toure;  Defoe)

I think we will rediscover our great goalscoring form from last season on Sunday, and hopefully we can win the game.