Lee Dixon: Speedy Spurs can give City a fright

The danger man

Tottenham are in the north west on Sunday hoping to make it a double of away wins over the Manchester clubs. It's no forlorn hope, says Lee Dixon

Manchester City suffered another European nightmare in midweek and there may be domestic misery after Tottenham's visit on Sunday. 

Something is not quite right with Roberto Mancini's men and Spurs are the sort of team who could take advantage of the Premier League champions' new found defensive weakness.

The visitors have pace in abundance, plenty of attacking threat and could well be a more effective unit playing away from the White Hart Lane atmosphere where boos could be heard from a section of the support after the final whistle last weekend. 

This was a cracking game last season and something tells me we may be in for similar drama on Sunday. Tottenham have let in a few against the big teams and I don't see that changing here, but they clearly have the potential to beat anybody. The games against United (a 3-2 win at Old Trafford) and Chelsea (a 4-2 defeat at home) are our blueprint for this match. 

Let's deal with City first. I was at the game on Tuesday and it was a spirited performance once they'd got over the shock of conceding two really poor goals. They should have won it really, but that is how their season has been going, especially in Europe where the trend was set with that defeat in Madrid. 

But the goals they conceded at home to Ajax were pretty woeful and something is clearly wrong with the defence. City's zonal marking system has been criticised but the problem for me is not the system - I played it with great success at Arsenal after all - but the way they're executing it. The back four was far too static when Ajax delivered balls into the box; they must own their areas, stay active and attack the ball. Gareth Bale's crosses from the left should be a cause for concern.   

And it could be a former player getting on the end of those balls with Emmanuel Adebayor surely due a league start soon. He impressed on Thursday night against Maribor and there is something to be said for fielding a former player at his old club. 

It's a tough game for City but that is probably what they need - sometimes you're better off playing a big club rather than one of the lesser lights - however, at 1.618/13 to back, they are not for me. In fact it looks like a lay, despite City boasting an unbeaten run of 34 games at home. Spurs have shown they can compete with the best and, with the hosts not firing, I think they can get at least a point to exact a bit of revenge for last season.

There are goalscoring candidates right across the pitch but Bale has been exceptional this season and I fancy the Welshman will score at the Etihad, just like he did last season. I'm hoping to get a bet matched at anything over 4.03/1. 

As a final bet I am chucking a few quid at 2-2. There are goals in this game and a high-scoring stalemate looks likely. 

Recommended Bets 
Lay City @ 1.618/13
Back Gareth Bale to score @ 4.03/1 or above 
Back 2-2 @ 17.016/1 

The Tactical View: Michael Cox

"Backing both teams to score has been a reliable source of winnings in matches between big clubs this season – Santi Cazorla’s late strike against Manchester United last week kept that record up – and [1.75] looks good to me here. There’s no way Tottenham will keep a clean sheet considering Roberto Mancini’s attacking options, but I don’t fancy the Manchester City defence against pace either – and with Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, I think Tottenham will trouble them."