Can Tottenham also expose faltering Man City’s frailties?

It may be too late to stop Manchester City’s march to the Premier Leaguetitle, but Tottenham Hotspur can further delay the title party andfurther embolden challengers next season by inflicting a fourth straightdefeat on Pep Guardiola’s men today.City have suffered their worst week since Guardiola took charge withthree successive defeats for the first time under the Catalan coach.Liverpool romped into the Champions League semi-finals 5-1 on aggregatewin by winning both legs of their quarter-final, whilst City also blew atwo-goal lead and the chance to win the title against local rivalsManchester United in losing the Manchester derby 3-2 last weekend.The champions-elect still boast a 13-point lead at the top of thePremier League with six games remaining. And they could even be crownedas early as tomorrow with victory at Wembley allied to defeat for Unitedat home to West Brom. City thrashed Spurs 4-1 when the sides metearlier in the season in the midst of a record 18-game winning run thatamassed their commanding lead at the top of the table. However, byconceding eight times in three games, Guardiola’s men unveiled aweakness that hadn’t been exposed by their Premier League rivals for thevast majority of the season.Liverpool’s bold approach has contrasted to most when faced with themight of City’s attacking arsenal and Jurgen Klopp has been rewardedwith three wins in four meetings with the runaway Premier League leadersthis season.Likewise, United scored three times in 16 minutes once forced to attackby a half-time deficit that could have been far greater had the hoststaken their chances. City also looked like a side running out of gas asthey let half-time leads slip away twice in the past week afterblistering first-half performances.“The exceptional thing has been 10 months winning, winning, winning andlosing just one game,” said Guardiola, whose side need two wins toguarantee themselves the title. “Now we have a mini-league for six gamesand we are going to try and close it.”Elimination at the quarter-finals of the Champions League in particularsoured a hitherto stunning season from City as their wait to conquerEurope continued despite amassing a squad worth an estimated 853mn euros(£747mn, $1bn) in transfer fees alone.However, Guardiola believes delivering the first Premier League title ofhis reign was the priority for his second season in charge. “AfterTottenham we have one week long week to Swansea, one long week to WestHam just to win the two games to win the most important competition. ThePremier League shows how good you are every three days.”Whilst Spurs were torn apart at the Etihad in December, MauricioPochettino’s men have also shown no fear in their previous meetings withGuardiola’s City. Spurs inflicted Guardiola’s first defeat in Englishfootball in a thoroughly deserved 2-0 win at White Hart Lane lastseason, and can solidify their place in the top four by inflicting morepain on City.Pochettino’s men hold a 10-point lead over fifth-placed Chelsea, butinsists his ambition is to succeed City as champions next season. “Weare in the race for top four and that for Tottenham is a massiveachievement to finish in the top four for the third season in a row,”said Pochettino on Thursday. “That is so important, but the ambition isto win titles and one day the Premier League or Champions League.”Fixtures (1400GMT unless stated)Today: Southampton v Chelsea (1130), Swansea v Everton, Burnley vLeicester, Crystal Palace v Brighton, Huddersfield v Watford, Liverpool vBournemouth (1630), Tottenham v Manchester City (1845)Tomorrow: Newcastle v Arsenal (1230), Manchester United v West Brom (1500)On Monday: West Ham v Stoke (1900)