Nuno Espirito Santo begins his reign as Tottenham Hotspur manager at home to Premier League champions Manchester City this afternoon, amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding striker Harry Kane.
Nuno, who was appointed Spurs manager in July following a protracted 72-day search for Jose Mourinho’s successor, has had to deal with the speculation surrounding Kane’s future, with the striker reportedly set on leaving Tottenham and joining City this summer.
Kane returned to Tottenham training on Friday and the Portuguese boss said he will make a late decision on whether to play the 28-year-old against the side he has been linked with all summer, despite his lack of a pre-season. “He’s here with us. He’s a Tottenham player,” Nuno said on Friday. “We have to think about tomorrow [Saturday]. Let’s prepare the training session of tomorrow and go day by day.”
The coach could hand Premier League debuts to new arrivals Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero while for City, all eyes will be on whether Jack Grealish is handed his first start for the club after arriving for a British record fee of £100m from Aston Villa.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League fixture today.
When is it and what time is kick-off?
The match will get underway at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 15 August at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting at 4pm BST. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
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What is the team news?
Spurs manager Nuno will have made his decision on whether Kane will play following Saturday’s training session, while new arrivals Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero, who picked up an injury at the Copa America, will also be assessed. Japhet Tanganga should be available after recovering from a slight injury picked up in the pre-season friendly against Arsenal on Sunday.
For City, Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus could all return to the squad after missing Saturday’s Community Shield final – but Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt and Phil Foden is out due to injuries sustained at the Euros this summer.
Possible line-ups
Tottenham: Lloris; Tanganga; Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon; Winks, Hojbjerg; Lucas, Dele, Bergwijn; Son
Manchester City: Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Mendy; Gundogan, Rodri, Grealish; Mahrez, Torres, Sterling
Odds
Tottenham: 9/2
Draw: 16/5
Manchester City: 3/5
Prediction
Of the two sides, and despite the uncertainty surrounding Kane, Tottenham have had the more settled pre-season in terms of player availability. City have seven first team players who have only returned this week or are unavailable due to their involvement in international tournaments this summer and while they have the deepest squad in the Premier League, that is far from ideal. However, the starting line-up Guardiola selects this afternoon is still likely to be stronger than Spurs’ – and this is a team used to winning in the Premier League. Tottenham 1-2 Manchester City
