Premier League Big Match Focus: How to back a 13/2 Bet Builder in Man City v Tottenham

• Spurs coming off three straight losses

• Haaland can't stop scoring

• Read Betfair's new 90 minute payout offer here

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Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday, 16:30
Sky Sports Main Event

A few weeks ago, Spurs v Manchester City looked like a prospective top-of-the table clash, but the London side's recent form means they find themselves arresting a slide.

Ange Postecoglou's men suffered a pair of untimely injuries in their loss at home to Chelsea, with Micky van de Ven and James Maddison both still missing, and then lost narrowly to Wolves and Aston Villa after going in front in both games. This slump has seen them lose their grip on top spot, with second-place City among those to climb ahead of them.

A fourth straight defeat for Tottenham would further dent their Champions League aspirations, even with the potential for the top five rather than the top four to qualify. Win, however, and they can blow the title race wide open.

City's bogey team

Few teams have a winning record against the reigning Premier League champions over an extended period, but Spurs have done better than most. Over their last seven meetings, the Londoners have won five to City's two.

They're 8/19.00 to make that six from eight on Sunday, but it won't be simple.
Spurs have tended to be better at home than away, though. Their last 13 trips to the Etihad Stadium have brought just two victories, though one of those was as recent as 2022 when a stoppage-time winner from Harry Kane gave them a 3-2 victory.

Kane has now moved on, of course, but so have City's scorers from that game, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. The only surviving scorer, Spurs winer Dejan Kulusevski, also netted at City last season and is 15/28.50 to score at any time.

Arresting the slide

Postecoglou still has plenty of goodwill in North London after leading his team unbeaten through their first 10 matches of the season. However, a fourth straight defeat would represent their worst losing run in the league since the 2004-05 season, when Jacques Santini was sacked and the defeats continued under his successor Martin Jol.

That losing run ended at six games, but was followed by eight games unbeaten. Interestingly, one of those eight came away to Manchester City, when Frédéric Kanouté scored the only goal of the game.

Not only are Spurs on the verge of four straight defeats, but they're at risk of four in a row in which they have scored first. That has never happened in the Premier League, but the last team to lose three in a row after scoring first - Leicester City in 2014 - followed it up with a 1-0 reverse against... you guessed it, Manchester City.

City themselves are coming off a comeback victory in Europe, with RB Leipzig leading 2-0 before Pep Guardiola's men rallied. Spurs to lead at half-time and City to win can be backed at 18/119.00.

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur prediction

City's European comeback was started by Erling Haaland, who fired home the first of their three goals. The Norwegian became the quickest player to reach 50 Premier League goals when he opened the scoring against Liverpool last time out, and City will surely be well aware that the league's leading scorer. - who's 12/53.40 to net first on Sunday - has never finished on the losing side when scoring a Premier League goal.

Spurs' hopes will rest with captain Son Heung-min, who was denied by the offside flag on multiple occasions against Aston Villa. He has a chance to become the first ever Premier League player to score away against four different reigning champions, having done so against Chelsea in 2015-16, Leicester in 2016-17 and Liverpool in 2020-21.

We have our eye on the Bet Builder market for this game, with Haaland in focus after his goal in a 4-2 home win against Spurs last season. City to win, Haaland to score first and more than 1.5 first-half goals can be backed at 13/27.50.

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