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Extended HLs: Tottenham Hotspur v. Man City MWK 27  NBC Sports

Manchester City looked back to their brilliant best for 45 minutes as they dominated Tottenham Hotspur in every facet, before Pep Guardiola’s side held on for dear life after the break to secure a much-needed 1-0 victory in north London on Wednesday.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY - Highlights, recap & analysis

Erling Haaland bagged his 20th Premier League goal of the season after just 12 minutes and the four-time defending champions should have been 3-0 ahead by halftime. After the restart, however, it was more of the same problems for Man City, for whom no lead has looked truly safe this season. Three points in the end, though, and they’re back up to 4th in the table, three points clear for (what we presume to be) a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Pep Guardiola reaction — What did Man City boss say after narrowly beating Spurs?

“Really happy for the victory and the three points because we need it. The second half was open because we didn’t close the game in the first half. We had too many clear chances and for the quality that we have, you have to convert. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. We knew the second half would be more difficult and we would suffer, but we did it. They guys fought a lot and I’m really pleased because here [at Tottenham Hotspur stadium] is always a difficult, difficult place to come.”

…

“The wingers again — Savinho and Jeremy [Doku] — have been outstanding. … He [Doku] is a threat in the final third and makes an incredible assist for the goal. In football when one player dribbles at another player, you open the space and everything.”

…

“It’s not easy. We’ve won just three times in this stadium in eight or nine years, so it has been tough. I know how good they are. Listen, this is one of the best type of squads I have seen, the manager is exceptional. … They are a fantastic team, so I am really pleased for the victory today.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League winning streak is done at three games after Ange Postecoglou’s side was beaten 1-0 at home by Manchester City on Wednesday.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY - Highlights, recap & analysis

Erling Haaland struck just 12 minutes into the game as Manchester City were utterly dominant in the first half. The tide totally turned after halftime but Spurs were unable to connect the final pass on too many occasions, and when they did, Ederson was up to the task. Much of the post-game discussion will likely focus on the fact that Postecoglou dropped Heung-min Son, Dejan Kulusevski and Djed Spence from the starting XI when the trio had been so influential in recent weeks. A calculated risk, no doubt, but one that didn’t pay off.

Ange Postecoglou reaction — What did Spurs boss say after losing to Manchester City?

“We knew that City would come out pretty strong, but we also knew that we would finish strong so it was a matter of hanging in there. First half, we were just a little bit eager to get forward with the ball and were wasteful. We didn’t handle that part of the game well. They scored and had further chances. Second half, we dominated the game and territory. We were much better with the ball.”

…

"[Team selection] was about trying to get our squad up and running again. Guys like Destiny [Udogie], Brennan [Johnson] and Wilson [Odobert] — they need game time. There’s no point in having a squad of players and them not being ready. Sonny, Deki [Kulusevski] and Djed have played a lot of football. I though they came on and made an impact. It’s a disappointing loss tonight, but I still though our performance stood up, which was the most important thing.”

…

“Mathys [Tel] has worked hard and he was one who probably needs a rest. It will be good to get Dom[inic Solanke] back in there. When he was playing for us, he was hard to stop. You could see the benefit of them having Haaland back, and it hopefully won’t be long now.”

Spurs host Manchester City in what promises to be an encounter full of attacking flair.

WATCH – Spurs v Man City

That is what you always get from Ange Postecoglou’s side and they’ve turned the corner in a big way after three-straight wins in the Premier League. They hammered Ipswich Town 4-1 at the weekend and with Spurs it’s very simple: when they have most of their key players fit they’re a very good team. Spurs may not qualify for the Champions League through a late-season surge towards fifth-place, but they have a real chance of making it by winning the Europa League.

Manchester City huffed and puffed against Liverpool on Sunday but lost 2-0, so they’ll be feeling a bit down in the dumps. Still, Pep Guardiola’s new signings are looking good and they’re generally heading in the right direction. A top five finish (the Premier League’s fifth-team is very likely to qualify for the Champions League) is looking achievable and if Guardiola’s side can pull that off and win the FA Cup, they will have salvaged plenty from this injury-hit season as they remain mid-rebuild.

How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Wednesday (February 26)

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium -- London

TV Channel: Peacock

Streaming: Premier League on Peacock

Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus

It’s a real luxury for Spurs to have plenty of depth on their bench and look at the difference it is making. Vicario back in goal and Udogie back at left back is huge and has calmed things down in defense, while Son, Johnson and Kulusevski look fresh and are firing on all cylinders. New signings Dano and Tel have also settled in well and after a tough few months things are heading in the right direction for Spurs.

OUT: Richarlison (lower leg), Micky van de Ven (fitness), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL - out for season), Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Cristian Romero (quad) | QUESTIONABLE: Timo Werner (thigh)

Manchester City team news, focus

Obviously City missed the injured Erling Haaland up top against Liverpool but Marmoush is looking sharp and has settled in well. So have fellow new signings Khusanov and Gonzalez as Guardiola believes City have a bright future with these young players leading the way. Defensively City still have issues, especially at right back. We could see the likes of Dias, Grealish and Kovacic rotated into the lineup after an intense game against Liverpool on Sunday.

OUT: John Stones (thigh), Rodri (torn ACL - MORE), Manuel Akanji (muscular) | QUESTIONABLE: Erling Haaland (knee), Oscar Bobb (fitness)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City prediction

Fernandez slots home Chelsea's opener v. Villa

Pedro Neto races down the line and finds an open Enzo Fernandez in front of goal to make it 1-0 for Chelsea at Villa Park.

Extended HLs: Arsenal v. West Ham Matchweek 26

Watch full-match highlights from this London derby between West Ham United and Arsenal at the Emirates in Matchweek 26.

Kulusevski curls Spurs 4-1 in front of Ipswich

The rout is on as Dejan Kulusevski's curling effort finds the bottom corner to make it 4-1 for Spurs at Portman Road.

Spence drives Spurs 3-1 ahead of Ipswich Town

Tottenham Hotspur have some breathing room as Djed Spence's shot takes a deflection and goes in to make it 3-1 against Ipswich Town.

Hinshelwood powers Brighton 4-0 in front of Saints

Jack Hinshelwood puts the icing on the cake for the Seagulls as he drills his effort into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 4-0 for Brighton against Southampton.

Lewis-Skelly sent off against West Ham

Arsenal are a goal down, and now a man down after Myles Lewis-Skelly receives a straight red card for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity against West Ham.

Mitoma chips Brighton 3-0 ahead of Southampton

Kaoru Mitoma takes a page out of Joao Pedro's book and chips Aaron Ramsdale to give Brighton a 3-0 lead at St. Mary's.

Munoz drills Crystal Palace 2-0 ahead of Fulham

Jean-Phillipe Mateta's dazzling footwork sets up Daniel Munoz in front of goal, where Munoz blasts his effort into the roof of the net to double Crystal Palace's lead over Fulham.

Rutter doubles Brighton's lead against Southampton

Brighton take a 2-0 lead thanks to a successful press that results in Georginio Rutter slotting home his side's second against the Saints.

Pedro chips Brighton in front of Southampton

Joao Pedro's lovely chip goes in to give Brighton an early 1-0 lead against Southampton at St. Mary's.

Bowen heads West Ham in front of Arsenal

The Emirates falls silent as Jarrod Bowen's diving header beats David Raya to make it 1-0 for the Hammers against Arsenal.

Tottenham Hotspur were hardly at their best on Saturday, but Ange Postecoglou’s side still managed to secure a 4-1 victory away to Ipswich and achieve their first three-game winning streak in the Premier League this season.

IPSWICH 1-4 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - Highlights, recap & analysis

Ipswich had every opportunity in the world to beat Spurs for the second time this season, but Lady Luck was undeniably on the visitors’ side in this one. Liam Delap could have had a hat trick inside 6 minutes on another day, but it was Brennan Johnson who opened the scoring with a first-half brace before Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski put the game to bed near the end, just when it looked like another late collapse could be on the cards. Spurs’ goal difference now stands at +15 in the PL — 4th-best, behind only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City — and Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are expected to return from injury within the next week or two.

Ange Postecoglou reaction — What did Spurs boss say after win away to Ipswich?

“They’re one of the hardest working teams in the league. You know you’re going up against a battle and a contest — we had to do that today. First half, we could have done better. We allowed them some moments, but in the second half we dug in.

“That allowed us to execute and play our football. When you come to a place like this, the crowd creates some energy. We had to weather that storm.”

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“We were always a threat. Sonny was unplayable in that first half. So great to get Brennan back. He scores so many goals for us in those areas.”

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“The fact that we can throw people on from the bench who can contribute — I could give Madders [James Maddison] and Pedro [Porro] a rest today. Everyone gets a boost. From our perspective, these last two weeks have given us a breather and reset our football. I’m pleased the boys have embraced it.”

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"[Kevin Danso has] been great for us since he came in. He’s really taken to the club, taken to the group of players, taken on the challenge. It’s not easy when you’re coming into a new club and we’re asking him to come in and almost be a senior member. We still had three teenagers out there starting today, and a fourth coming on. It’s still a really young team. I think Kevin’s been a super addition for us.”

Brace scorer Brennan Johnson, on Spurs’ 4-1 win over Ipswich

“We have always tried to believe. When we have all the players back, we won the last two Premier League games and that’s something we wanted to keep in mind. We played good football, but also defended well.”

“With more experienced players, they have had to deal with these games when we’re 2-0 up, but then concede one. When we have these experienced players back, we know how to get onto the ball.”

…

“They beat us last time and that was in our heads because we didn’t want to lose today. It’s Tottenham Hotspur — we want to be as high as we can. We want to get right up the league.”

Rutter doubles Brighton's lead against Southampton

Brighton take a 2-0 lead thanks to a successful press that results in Georginio Rutter slotting home his side's second against the Saints.

Pedro chips Brighton in front of Southampton

Joao Pedro's lovely chip goes in to give Brighton an early 1-0 lead against Southampton at St. Mary's.

Bowen heads West Ham in front of Arsenal

The Emirates falls silent as Jarrod Bowen's diving header beats David Raya to make it 1-0 for the Hammers against Arsenal.

Andersen's own goal gives Palace lead v. Fulham

Joachim Andersen scores an own goal against his former team as Crystal Palace takes a 1-0 lead against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Hutchinson pulls one back for Ipswich v. Spurs

Omari Hutchinson fires his first-time effort into the back of the net to reduce Ipswich Town's deficit to just one goal against Spurs at Portman Road.

Cunha blasts Wolves 1-0 ahead of Bournemouth

Wolves take the lead over 10-man Bournemouth thanks to Matheus Cunha's finish from inside the box.

Zabarnyi sent off for reckless challenge v. Wolves

Bournemouth go down to 10 men after Illia Zabarnyi receives a straight red card for a dangerous challenge against Wolves at the Vitality Stadum.

Johnson doubles Spurs' lead against Ipswich Town

Brennan Johnson makes it a brace as he fires his effort into the back of the net to make it 2-0 for Spurs against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

Amorim critical of Man United's performance

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim shares his takeaways from his side's 2-2 draw with Everton in Matchweek 26.

Man United show fight in dramatic draw v. Everton

Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, and Robbie Mustoe react to Manchester United's comeback in the second half to salvage a draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

Fernandes' free kick gives Man United hope

Manchester United finally get on the board as Bruno Fernandes fires his free kick past Jordan Pickford to make it a one-goal match at Goodison Park.

Tottenham Hotspur will try to make it three straight wins in the Premier League for the first time all season when they visit relegation-threatened Ipswich on Saturday (9 am ET), as Ange Postecoglou’s side slowly but surely grows stronger with players returning from injury.

WATCH LIVE - Ipswich vs Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs (12th - 30 points) have not only won back-to-back PL games for just the second time this season, but kept clean sheets in each as well. Coincidentally, it was also Brentford and Manchester United who they beat in succession back in September. There is also the small matter of revenge to exact against the Tractor Boys, who handed Spurs perhaps their most crushing defeat of the season in November — sat in 18th at the time, Ipswich picked up their first win of the season in north London in matchweek 11.

Ipswich (still 18th - 17 points) have won twice more since and remain exactly where they were when they beat Spurs the last time — two points below the relegation line, not with just 13 games left to play. The recent defeat to last-place Southampton, who have just two wins on the season, could have taken all the wind out of their sails but Kieran McKenna’s side bounced back in a big way by drawing Aston Villa last weekend to snap a four-game losing streak. Still, Ipswich are winless in their last six league games (0W-2D-4L). There’s still plenty of time, until there isn’t.

How to watch Ipswich vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 10 am ET Saturday

Venue: Portman Road — Ipswich

TV Channel: USA Network

Streaming: Watch live online via NBC.com

Ipswich team news, focus

OUT: Axel Tuanzebe (suspension), Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles - out for season), Conor Chaplin (knee), Christian Walton (groin) | QUESTIONABLE: Sammi Szmodics (ankle), Julio Enciso (knee), Sam Morsy (abdominal), Leif Davis (undisclosed)

Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus

OUT: Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Cristian Romero (hamstring), Richarlison (lower leg), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Heung-min Son (knock), Kevin Danso (knock), Rodrigo Bentancur (knock), Timo Werner (thigh)

Ipswich vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is again dealing with the losing end of a Premier League match after his misfiring attack was blanked 1-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in North London on Sunday.

The Red Devils remain embroiled in the mess that is the bottom-half of the Premier League, and there are few players or staffers who should be pleased with their first-half levels in going behind to their London hosts.

MORE — Recap, analysis from Spurs 1-0 Man United

The second half was much better as captain Bruno Fernandes — a force over the entirety of the match — did his best to inspire chance after chance without finish from a sputtering group of forwards.

It was one moment from an opportunistic, rebound-hunting James Maddison that sent the Red Devils to a third loss in four Premier League matches, as United is 2W-1D-6L in the league since December 22.

Here’s how the Man United manager saw it.

Ruben Amorim reaction — How did Manchester United manager react to loss at Tottenham Hotspur?

Many missed chances? “The difference of the game was they scored, we didd’t score. We had our opportunities to score. At the end of the first half we pushed a little bit harder. We had the situations. We suffered some transitions because we were trying to get results but in the end they scored and we didn’t.”

On all the absences for this game: “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. We want to recover players. We can recover some for the next game. From this moment until the end of the season it’s going to be like that. So we have to be together, to finish the season, and start over.”

Has he ever had a bench as young as this in his career? “At my former club I had it but it’s completely different because this is the hardest competition in the world and [Sporting Lisbon] are playing in one competition that is not too strong. So I’m trying to be careful with [the young players}. They will play. You try to read the game and understand what you’re seeing in training. I felt our team was pushing for the goal. I didn’t feel the need to make changes.”

Concerned about his status? “I’m not worried, again. Of course I understand our friends and what people in media think about it. I just want to finish the league strong. I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about the club, I’m worried about the team, the players. So for me it’s the same — I just hate to lose. The feeling is the worst thing. The rest I’m not worried about. I want to help my players, the young kids in this moment.”

“I’m just focused on helping my players. I understand my situation and my job so I never worry about that. I’m really confident in my work and I just want to win games. The place in the table is my worry, I’m not worried about me.”

Ruben Amorim post-game interview (video)

LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday in a game which was dubbed by me many “the Europa League favorites derby” and a tense game highlighted the flaws of both teams.

James Maddison’s first half goal was the difference as Spurs soaked up plenty of pressure in the second half and were thankful both Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee missed big chances.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have now won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since September.

Meanwhile Ruben Amorim has won just nine of his 21 games in all competitions in charge of United and have just two wins in their last nine in the Premier League.

Below is a look at what we learned as Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester United in a clash between Premier League underachieving giants.

Bergvall, Maddison bring the quality Angeball needs

To play Angeball at its very best you need to have the ball and Spurs duo Maddison and Bergvall are so good on it and keeping it. They dictated the tempo in the first half and with ageing stars Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes United’s only fit midfielders left, Bergvall and Maddison ran rings around them. When your entire style of play is built on winning the ball back as quickly as possible to attack, you need players who can then keep it and sustain attacks and create some magic. Sarr and Bissouma are good at winning it back but not the best at keeping it and having two cool-headed central midfielders to calm things down and speed things up gives Spurs more control in games. Both came off in the second half with Sarr and Bissouma on for more defensive solidity but it was noticeable how Spurs struggled to keep any control late on. That was because Bergvall and Maddison weren’t around to control things and that duo are key moving forward.

Hojlund continues to struggle as wastefulness highlights Amad’s absence

Rasmus Hojlund looked like a striker who has scored just two times in 19 Premier league appearances this season. The Danish forward is lacking in confidence and that will happen when midfielders are played ahead of you up top, which has happened a lot recently. Others around Hojlund were better, with Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee showing some nice touches and dangerous on the counter. But both wasted huge chances, Garnacho in the first half and Zirkzee in the second. That highlighted the brutal absence of Amad Diallo, who announced on Saturday he has suffered an ankle injury which will keep him out for some time. If the 22-year-old winger was on the pitch at Spurs he would have surely buried one of those big chances. United are missing their top goal contributor in the Premier League (six goals, six assists) and it showed. Bruno Fernandes did his best to get United going in attack but they have lost eight of their last 12 Premier League games and never looked like they believed they could get an equalizer.

Spurs now have a chance to build some momentum

With players like Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert back from injury, plus new signings Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso obviously going to play a key part for the rest of the season, Spurs’ squad now looks so much stronger. Others are close to returning soon too and this win gives Spurs a platform to build from and for some momentum to arrive as they’ve finally secured consecutive PL wins for the first time in five months. They head to Ipswich then host Manchester City and Bournemouth before playing away at Fulham before the international break in March. If they can get through that run of games with three wins, that’s a great return and will likely see them back in the top half of the table. Amid all of that will be their Europa League last 16 clash and all of these players are returning for a key moment in their season. Spurs still have a long way to go but this is a good starting point.