The cameras will be down at the Etihad Stadium but our thoughts will certainly be focused on events at White Hart Lane as Spurs play their first of two gameweek fixtures carrying the hopes and armbands of many Fantasy managers. The Dugout Discussion chatroom is now open to collect the joy and pains at the Lane as they happen.
The team news finds Rafael Van der Vaart, Emmanuel Adebayor and the heavily backed Gareth Bale safely nestled in Harry Redknapp’s lineup. Scott Parker’s absence leads to a shift to 4-4-2 though, with Jermain Defoe up front with Adebayor – that may well prove to be significant given the recent success of Bale and Van der Vaart in the 4-3-3, only time will tell. What we do know is that Spurs are up against an injury ravaged West Brom side, without the likes of Chris Brunt, Shane Long, Jonas Olsson and Youssouf Mulumbu; Graham Dorrans, Craig Dawson, Simon Cox and George Thorne all start for Roy Hodgson’s men.
Elsewhere tonight, City face Liverpool, while Wigan take on Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland. The most significant news from the team-sheets in that one is that Roberto Martinez appears to have rested Victor Moses to the bench, despite his recent form. Sunderland meanwhile, have Kieran Richardson back in their lineup. He comes in for Seb Larsson, the latest to be struck down by the Black Cats’ virus – nasty stuff clearly.
There’s no Luis Suarez at City tonight, as reported earlier, the Uruguayan starts his eight-match ban with immediate effect. Bizarrely, Kenny Dalglish goes into the game without Craig Bellamy, electing to bring Dirk Kuyt into his starting lineup in place of the Welshman; Steven Gerrard is once again on the bench. As expected, City bring back the big guns – David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Gael Clichy, James Milner and Micah Richards all make returns.
