Two long-time rivals are set to go head to head in the Premier League this weekend as Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho will face off for the 25th time. Mourinho has won the last two meetings and is looking to become the first manager to beat Guardiola in three away games.
Beating Guardiola’s Manchester City side will take a mammoth of an effort though as the Citizens have won 15 straight games across all competitions. 10 of the wins have come with a clean sheet, and UK bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 2.05 for them to notch one more such victory.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 12th, 1:30 P.M. (EST)
Tottenham are the last side to beat Guardiola’s team as Son Heung-min and Giovani Lo Celso secured a 2-0 result for Spurs on Nov. 21. City are unbeaten in 14 Premier League games since then with 12 wins and two draws, and their overall unbeaten record stands at 22 games.
Mourinho’s men had a very impressive start to the season and lost only four of their first 32 games across all competitions, but they now find themselves on a run of four defeats in five games. A victory on Saturday would provide the team with a much-needed boost; however, it’s been 29 years since the last time the Spurs beat a table-topping side in an away game.
Harry Kane is fit again and he has scored in both outings since his return, but the team was horrible defensively in Wednesday’s 5-4 FA Cup loss to Everton and history suggests that Tottenham won’t be able to rely on its star striker in this fixture. Kane has fired blanks in six straight games against City and has managed only two Premier League goals in the previous 10 appearances between these two teams.
Meanwhile, City are able to field the hottest player in the league in Ilkay Gündogan, who has scored a league-high seven goals in 2021 and just won the January Player of the Month award. Sergio Agüero is on his way back as well, so the City machine is about to get even stronger.
Man City are the first team in English top-flight history to win 15 straight games across all competitions, but their job is far from finished. “We are not [unbeatable],” Guardiola said ahead of Saturday’s clash. “The 15 games in a row doesn’t help us to start 2-0 up before the start of the game. I said many times it is nice and helps us to be where we are in the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, and especially the Premier League, but no more than that.”
