Manchester City vs Tottenham: Why Jose Mourinho will revert to type against Pep Guardiola
In the latest Pitch to Post Preview podcast, Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour explains why he expects Jose Mourinho to revert to his tried-and-tested defence-first approach when Tottenham face Manchester City on Saturday.
Mourinho’s side were uncharacteristically expansive in Wednesday’s FA Cup meeting with Everton but Gilmour believes the 5-4 defeat will have left the Spurs boss “scarred”.
Mourinho has beaten Manchester City twice since his appointment as Spurs manager, both times in trademark style, but they go into Saturday’s meeting in poor form while Guardiola’s men are on a 15-game winning streak having not lost since their last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mourinho talked up Tottenham’s attacking performance at Goodison Park on Wednesday, but Gilmour believes he will be more concerned by their defensive frailties when they visit the Etihad Stadium.
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“Tottenham fans obviously won’t be happy going out of the FA Cup but from an attacking point of view, not many teams go to Goodison Park and score four,” said Gilmour.
“The problem of course was conceding five, so maybe we saw why Jose Mourinho does like to set up his teams to be solid defensively first and foremost.
“Maybe he has seen something in Tottenham to show that they need to do that. If he lets the leash off too much, then a mad night like that can happen.
“First and foremost, he’s about winning trophies. He wants to deliver a trophy for Tottenham and there’s more risk attached if you perform like they did against Everton.
“Yes, they scored four away from home, but they conceded five, they’re out of the cup and they don’t win a trophy.
“As a neutral, I would like to see him throw in as many of those attacking players as possible and let them run free because if (Harry) Kane, (Heung-Min) Son, (Lucas) Moura and (Erik) Lamela are all thrown in at once and really given license to get at City, it might give them something to think about.
“But equally, if Everton can put five past Spurs, it could leave gaps for City to exploit too.
“I can see them going back to the tried and tested ways that he has beaten Manchester City with in recent times.
“I think he will revert to a more solid base and he will be scarred by conceding five. No manager enjoys that, but especially not him.
“I get the feeling he’s a manager who would focus on conceding five a lot more than scoring four.
“That will have felt deeply uncomfortable for him because he has bult his title-winning and trophy-winning teams around that solid base.”
Despite Tottenham’s recent struggles, Gilmour believes Saturday’s clash with Manchester City is the kind of game he loves.
“Mourinho will probably be relishing the chance to come up against Guardiola again.
“He loves matches like this I think because everyone is talking about Manchester City. They are the form team.
“He would love nothing more than to get a win and throw the cat amongst the pigeons.”
Pitch to Post Preview – Guardiola v Mourinho, Arsenal’s dip and development, and how far away are Man Utd?
In this week’s Pitch to Post Preview Podcast Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour and Sky Sports feature writer Nick Wright to look ahead to Saturday’s clash between Pep Guardiola’s Man City and Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, with the league leaders’ imperious form and Gareth Bale’s continued absence from the Spurs XI on the agenda.
We also hear from Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith on Arsenal’s inconsistency, how Mikel Arteta is building for a better campaign next season, and whether Leeds striker Patrick Bamford can make it into England’s squad for the Euros.
Plus, Nick Wright delivers his verdict on why Manchester United should be ready for a title tilt, Sam Allardyce’s struggles to turn things around at West Brom, and shares his Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend.
Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
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