Tottenham v Man City: Door open but take 3/1 Score Draw | OneFootball

EFL Cup

Will Ange Postecoglou add to his 'second season' trophy record?

Man City team news could seriously alter the market but backing this Carabao Cup tie to go beyond 90 minutes is the play, says Dave Tindall...

Tottenham v Man CityWednesday 30 October, 20:15Live on Sky Sports+ App & Sky Sports Main Event

Second best for Ange

Ange Postecoglou's claim that he always wins trophies in his second season is both factually correct but also a potential stick to beat him with when his each opportunity passes.

That silverware was never going to come in the Premier League and a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend left Spurs in eighth place and already 10 points off the lead with just nine games gone.

The Europa League will be a tall order and they're an iffy draw away from failing in the FA Cup for a 24th straight season.

Which leaves this competition as Ange's best chance of repeating the feat he managed with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos, the Australian national team and Celtic.

Drawing Manchester City in the last 16 of this tournament is potentially a head in hands moment given that Stoke or Preston could have come out of the hat. But maybe this is an ideal draw and let's explain why...

Pep willing to sacrifice Carabao

Pep Guardiola is the most successful manager in this competition's history, with four straight wins from 2018-2021. In other words, even with their eyes elsewhere, City always had enough in hand to work their way through to the final - and win it.

But last month he said this: "The next round, I announce to you now, I play the second team. We are not going to waste energy on this competition, for sure.

"It is a good competition to play the second team. I'm not going to take a risk in this competition for a Premier League or a Champions League with this competition."

City edged past Watford (currently seventh in the Championship) 2-1 in round three and he reiterated his claims about this tournament after his side beat Southampton 1-0 in the Premier League this weekend.

Asked whether he would have any injured players back against Tottenham, Guardiola said: "The Carabao Cup is just to play with the young players. We will see if we play with academy players or see how they come back fresh from that."

So is he having us on? Is it a ruse? Looking at the City line-up against Watford, their starting XI included Ortega, Walker, Stones, Lewis, Grealish, Doku, Nunes and Foden. All bar Doku (subsituted for Savinho at the break) played 90 minutes.

City favourites to progress

The odds suggest Pep's academy players claim is a red herring as the visitors are favourites.

The market shows Tottenham at 13/8, The Draw 13/5 and Man City 6/4.

Obviously they could change markedly nearer kick-off when team news comes to light but, for now, this is what punters have to work with.

This is the first of four straight away games for City (Bournemouth, Sporting and Brighton come next) so there is reason for Pep to give this one short shrift, as he says he will.

But let's imagine for a second that he goes with a similar team that played Watford. Would we still be happy to back the visitors then at 6/4?

City won twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season - 2-0 in the Premier League and 1-0 in the FA Cup. But prior to that it had been a bogey ground, Spurs winning the previous five encounters there.

In other words the evidence is mixed.

The pair played out a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw at the Etihad last season and the Score Draw at 3/1 could be the best bet here. Even if City do start with a weakened team, there could still be one or two older heads on the bench.

And given what Liverpool's kids managed to do in the final against Chelsea last year, don't rule out City's young ones - even if there are plenty of them - rising to the occasion and causing the hosts trouble.

Johnson Bet Builder best bet

With so much uncertainty over City's line-up, Tottenham players are best for Bet Builders.

Postecoglou will surely go strong and that should mean a start for Brennan Johnson, who has been prolific in recent times with six goals in his last nine games for club and country.

Johnson to score in a draw is just over 11/1 on the Bet Builder and is worthy of consideration.

Recommended bets

1pt - Back Score Draw in Tottenham v Man City @ 3/1

Staked: 18pts

Returned: 17.95pts

P/L: -0.05pts

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