Jurgen Klopp broke the football news cycle earlier today, so much so that it was easy to forget that we have four tasty FA Cup ties to get our teeth sunk into this evening.
Our focus this evening will be Man City’s trip to Spurs, with both sides looking to kick back into gear after a lesser-spotted mid-season break in English top-flight football comes to an end.
Notwithstanding where you fall on the debate over whether Spurs really are title contenders, for Ange Postecoglou this represents his best chance to secure a trophy for his side this season.
Arsenal are already out and this evening he and his side have the chance to dispose of another big fish. If Spurs win tonight, there will not be many other sides left in the FA Cup who will be favoured to beat them – Postecoglou will know this.
It is a huge fillip for him to be able to welcome James Maddison back into the fold after his recovery from a nasty ankle problem.
“There aren’t too many in the league that are like him”, Postecoglou said. “It just helps our ability to prepare for the challenges ahead. We have been through a difficult period.”
Pep Guardiola has had his own injury issues to manage, not least to Erling Haaland, who remains unavailable due to a foot problem.
“When you have these kinds of injuries, it’s between six and eight weeks out – it’s not a lot,” Guardiola said. “In Abu Dhabi and here in the last week to 10 days, he didn’t feel anything which is a good sign.”
However, Guardiola does now have the services of a fully fit Kevin de Bruyne to call on, with the Belgian producing a match-winning display against Newcastle in the Premier League before City’s week break.
