Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City - 5 players to watch out for | Premier League 2020-21

#3 Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

Can City's Ruben Dias keep Tottenham's attack quiet?

City might not look as potent in front of goal right now, but one area they’ve improved in since last season appears to be in defense. However, even that’s been a work in progress in recent months.

Pep Guardiola’s side were slaughtered 2-5 by Leicester City in September and then looked worryingly open in their following match against Leeds United. However, in the days that followed those games, Guardiola brought Portuguese international Ruben Dias to the Etihad for a massive fee of £62m.

And since Dias’ arrival, City’s defense has looked basically watertight. In the six matches that he’s appeared in, they’ve conceded just three goals. And he already seems to be forming an understanding with the highly-rated Aymeric Laporte.

A physical, no-nonsense defender, Dias will have to be at his best this weekend. Tottenham have one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attacks. And even if Harry Kane and Son Heung-min aren’t firing on all cylinders, City will also need to deal with the likes of Gareth Bale, Steven Bergwijn, and Lucas Moura.

But if Dias and his fellow defenders can keep Tottenham’s attack quiet, then the game could be there for the taking for City. And if they do win, the Portuguese international will certainly receive plenty of plaudits.

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#4 Serge Aurier (Tottenham)

Can Tottenham rely on Serge Aurier to help keep Manchester City's attack quiet?

With Matt Doherty sidelined following his positive COVID-19 test. At the same time, on international duty with Ireland, Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho may be forced to deploy Serge Aurier at right-back in this game.

The very idea of this might give Tottenham fans nightmares. Aurier played against City in February and had an absolute stinker, making a number of errors and conceding a penalty for a late challenge on Sergio Aguero. Tottenham eventually won the game, but it was despite the Ivorian’s performance, not because of it.

However, Aurier has seen a dramatic improvement since 2020-21 began. He had perhaps his greatest performance in a Tottenham shirt in his side’s 1-6 win over Manchester United. And he has yet to show glimpses of the rashness that has plagued his game throughout his time in North London.

But if he does start on Saturday, it should be his toughest test to date. He’ll likely come up against one of Phil Foden, Ferran Torres, Riyad Mahrez, or Bernardo Silva. All four are the kind of players that need attention throughout the game – meaning Aurier cannot simply attempt cavalier runs down the right flank.

And he’ll also need to be careful in the tackle, particularly inside the box. With VAR causing so many issues this season, the last thing Tottenham need is to give away a penalty in this game.

Aurier can affect this game in a positive way if he can play as he did against United. However, any slip back to his previous form and City could find plenty of inroads against him.

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#5 Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Phil Foden could cement himself as a key player for City with a good performance on Saturday.

2020-21 was always supposed to be the season that would see Phil Foden make a proper breakthrough at Manchester City. Seen as the heir apparent to David Silva, when the Spaniard departed in the summer, Foden was expected to step into his role as chief playmaker.

Things haven’t quite followed that plan. Foden has been awarded plenty of minutes thus far – he’s appeared in six of City’s seven games – but Pep Guardiola’s men now largely turn to Kevin De Bruyne for their creative spark.

Foden has instead been used in more of an attacking role, either centrally or from a wide area. And it was from that wide area that he excelled for England this week, tormenting Iceland and scoring his first two senior international goals.

The 20-year-old also has history against Tottenham – he scored the winner against them in April 2019. And with some question marks still hanging over Tottenham’s defense, particularly in terms of pace, Foden could definitely do some damage this weekend.

And if he can provide Guardiola’s men with a victory over a high-flying side like Tottenham? Then his importance to City’s title challenge this season won’t be questioned.