Sport
Tottenham gets advantage as Guardiola discloses a major point to Man City injury
Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost ahead of their FA Cup fourth-round showdown against Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola revealing that Erling Haaland is only expected to return to action at the end of January.
The clash between Spurs and City on January 26 is undoubtedly the tie of the round and the game promises to be a cracker, with both teams preferring to play on the front foot and take the game to the opposition.
The FA Cup represents Tottenham’s best chance of ending their 15-year trophy drought this season and one would expect Ange Postecoglou to name a full-strength side from the players available, particularly with Spurs having nearly two full weeks of rest ahead of the clash.
City have a poor record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having lost every single game at the ground and having not scored a single goal, and they will be keen to put that right.
Man City will miss Haaland for Spurs FA Cup clash
Guardiola has now confirmed that Haaland is not close to a return and that the striker may need until the end of the month to recover.
The City boss said (via Reuters): “It’s the bone. It needs time. It’s fine, but the doctors decided to stop for one week and maybe restart in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully, at the end of this month, he’ll be ready. It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Regardless of whether Haaland plays, it will be a formidable challenge to overcome City and Guardiola is likely to play a full-strength team as the Premier League champions also have a break of nearly two weeks before the game.
