Guéhi and Semenyo were both ineligible for our 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Galatasaray, a result which ensured our progress to the competition’s Round of 16.
But the pair both return to the First XI for our 16:30 (UK) clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Pep Guardiola makes three changes for the game.
Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku both drop out for the pair, the latter missing out completely after coming off in Wednesday’s UCL victory.
Rodri also comes into the team for Omar Marmoush.
Doku, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Savinho all remain on the sidelines through injury.
Victory this afternoon would keep the pressure up in the title race and move us just four points behind leaders, Arsenal, who beat Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road on Saturday.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Bernardo (C), O’Reilly, Semenyo, Cherki, Haaland
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Nico, Foden, McAidoo, Alleyne, Lewis
TACTICS
Gianluigi Donnarumma is between the sticks and protected by a back four of Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Rodri will be in the anchor role, alongside captain Bernardo Silva and Nico O’Reilly in the midfield area.
Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo will interchange in the spaces behind striking ace Erling Haaland.
BIG BOOST
It must be a real tonic for Pep Guardiola to be able to select Marc Guéhi and Antoine Semenyo in his team this afternoon.
There have been several absentees in both the defensive and forward areas of late with John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol as well as Jeremy Doku and Savinho on the sidelines at present.
Guéhi and Semenyo both missed out against Galatasaray because they’re not yet eligible to play in the UEFA Champions League so to have them back – and well rested over the past week – must be a boost for the boss as he looks for energy, endeavour and excellence today at Tottenham.
It’s fair to say that it’s been brilliant January business by City to acquire this hugely talented pair.
Assistant Coach Pep Lijnders waxed lyrical about the duo in the pre-match press conference while legendary midfielder Patrick Vieira hailed Guéhi as a ‘manager’s dream’ as he discussed his former Palace centre-back this week.
Semenyo has enjoyed a meteoric rise to become one of the Premier League’s most feared forwards and has scored three goals in his first four games in an explosive start to life in Manchester – with another chalked off controversially in the Carabao Cup win at Newcastle.
Guéhi arrived as one of the most sought after players in world football before putting in a faultless display in the 2-0 win over Wolves on his Premier League debut for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Here’s to more of the same this afternoon from the pair in the capital.
PURE QUALITY
For most strikers, going almost a month without a goal would create a sea of self-doubt – but clearly not our talisman forward Erling Haaland!
Haaland hadn’t found the net in five games as he headed into the vital UEFA Champions League clash with Galatasaray.
Played through expertly by Jeremy Doku in the opening moments of the League Phase decider, Haaland found himself one on one with goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakır before producing an impudent finish of the highest order chipping the Turkish stopper with the ball nestling snuggly in the net.
It showed our No.9’s class and composure and also his confidence that could easily have been dented of late.
Pep Lijnders spoke in his pre-match press conference about Haaland and said he was not surprised by the fab finish.
“For a striker, the most important thing is the next ball, the next moment, the next situation.
“It’s about having this confidence that will come and we know all his quality about how he can be in the box, with his feet, head, left, right and in the scruffy goals as well being there.
“It’s for him to keep believing that it comes and it’s so important he finished it off because it shows his quality in that situation to put that ball over the goalkeeper. It was pure quality.”
MATCH STATS
-Tottenham have completed the Premier League double over City nine times so far, more than they have any other opponent. Meanwhile, only Chelsea (ten) have done so more against the Blues.
-City have won our last two away league games against Spurs, last winning three in a row between February 1973 and August 1974.
-Tottenham are winless in five Premier League matches (D3 L2), their fourth run of 5+ winless games in the last two seasons. They only had four runs of five or more winless games across their previous 12 seasons combined from 2012/13 to 2023/24.
-In the last two seasons, City rank sixth for points won away from home in the Premier League (46 in 30 games – an average of 1.53 per game). In the two seasons beforehand in 2022/23 and 2023/24, City won the joint most away points (81 in 38 games – 2.13 points per game).
-In the last two seasons, the only ever-present sides to pick up fewer Premier League points than Tottenham (66) are Wolves (50) and West Ham (63), with Spurs’ 31 defeats second only to Wolves (37) in that time.
-Another defeat would mean Spurs have lost 10+ games for eight consecutive seasons since 2018/19 – in their eight seasons beforehand (2010/11 – 2017/18) this only happened twice.
-City faced as many shots as we had ourselves last time out against Wolves (11 each), the seventh time this season we’d either had fewer or as many attempts as our opponents in a Premier League game, the joint most in a season under Pep Guardiola. We are only averaging 4.7 more shots per game than our opponents this season, our smallest difference in a season under the Catalan.
-City’s Pep Guardiola has lost more league games against Spurs than any other opponent in his managerial career (8).
-Thomas Frank has won just four of his last 22 home Premier League matches, with an identical record (W2 D3 L6) across his last 11 games with Brentford as in his first 11 with Spurs (W4 D6 L12 overall). Frank has the worst points per game at home of any Spurs boss in Premier League history (0.82).
-Omar Marmoush netted his first Premier League goal of the season in City’s 2-0 win over Wolves but all eight of his goals in the competition have been scored at home – he’s failed to score with all 20 of his attempts in 12 games away from home.
-City’s Antoine Semenyo has scored five goals in his last eight Premier League appearances, the joint most of any player in that timeframe (15 December onwards). One of those was a late winner against Spurs for Bournemouth in January, with only Eric Cantona in 1992/93 (Leeds and Man Utd) and Benito Carbone in 1999/00 (Sheff Wed and Aston Villa) scoring against Spurs for two teams in a single season.