Paul Merson has predicted that Tottenham won’t be able to repeat their Champions League heroics when they meet Manchester City for the third time in 11 days on Saturday.
Spurs were beaten 4-3 at the Etihad on Wednesday evening, a result good enough to ensure they dumped City out of Europe, but the Sky pundit predicts a much more one-sided affair this time around.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: “I can’t seen anything other than a Man City win. Spurs don’t have the biggest squad in the world and the other night will have taken a lot out of them.
“I think both teams changing things up will still result in a City win. It is not a matter of revenge. It is a strange one because if you would have asked them last week City would rather have won the Champions League and Liverpool the league. Now it could be the other way around.
“Tottenham could easily rest players for this game and then just make sure they beat Brighton. With their injuries, they need to start prioritising their games now, and look at what games they will win and which they are less likely to win. It is not every day they get to a Champions League semi-final. They will rest players after such a quick turnaround.”
Merson predicts a 3-0 win for City.
OPINION
How can you even begin to predict this one? After what happened in midweek, anything is possible, and this match is balanced on a knife edge. You would expect City to come out looking for retribution, and if they can get into their stride, it could end up being a very one-sided affair. That being said, if they get ahead of themselves, like they did on Wednesday, Spurs have proven that they can hit them hard and fast on the break. City have had their fingers burnt once already by Mauricio Pochettino’s men, and as a result, you would expect a much cagier clash this time around. Spurs could end up resting players, but they aren’t out of the woods yet with regards to their Champions League qualification for next season either. If you had to, you would probably be inclined to make City favourites, but honestly, this could be anybody’s.