If you, like me, love to dissect all the games and predict what the score will be and which team will win, I encourage you to get involved in the comments section below. Let’s have a bit of fun.
Manchester City can gut the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just two points with a win over Tottenham in north London on Sunday (watch live, 11:30 am ET on NBC and online via NBCSports.com).
Arsenal (50 points) were handed just their second defeat of the season on Saturday, beaten 1-0 away to Everton as Sean Dyche made his debut as Toffees manager. Now level on games played for just over 24 hours, Manchester City (45 points) are once again within striking distance, but Tottenham (36 points – 5th place) have given them fits in recent seasons, when few others could.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Tottenham vs Manchester City.
12:17pm ET: Crossbar smashed! Riyad Mahrez nearly has it 1-1 at the break. We’re almost done with two minutes stoppage time.
12:13pm ET: Close! Grealish has been a live wire and whips in a shot that cannot find the frame. City cannot find Erling Haaland and the xG battle is even at 0.37 even if City has 68 percent of the ball and a 6-2 edge in shots. Still 1-0 Spurs, who have a corner and cannot get through City because Kane and Eric Dier have a few chances to snap a loose ball home.
12:05pm ET: It’s slowed down a bit, so let’s take a moment to shout out reaction from the other two Premier League players who can say they’ve scored 200 goals in the competition.
11:52am ET: YELLOW CARD, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR. Man City right back at it, but Spurs take the ball back and Kane wins a free kick just inside the circle. City takes the ball back and Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis are bringing electricity to the center of the park. Lewis is chopped down by Rodrigo Betancur, who sees a yellow card for his petulance.
11:47am ET: GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR! And it’s history for Harry Kane! It had still been a lot of City, but a bad giveaway deep in its own end allows Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to lay the ball off for Kane inside the 18. From this angle and range, the new all-time Tottenham Hotspur goal scorer is not going to miss and Spurs lead at home with his 267th goal in the shirt. It’s also his 200th Premier League goal. What a moment! Tottenham 1-0 Man City, 15′.
11:36am ET: It’s been a good start for Man City, with a couple of corner kicks. City, however, looks like it will be dealing with an 18 that resembles cartons of milk on the shelf at the grocery store. City currently opening the door to find a compact Spurs unit all over the pitch, with several shots blocked inside the 18.
11:15am ET: Good morning! Nick Mendola here with you ahead of a game Antonio Conte would love to get and Pep Guardiola will be planning to capture. Some odd comments from Guardiola before the game about Kevin De Bruyne being out of the Starting XI for tactical reasons, while Phil Foden misses out through injury/illness. Exciting under-the-radar Maximo Perrone has a spot in the 18, too, and some are suspecting him as a long-term Rodri clone. As for Spurs, Conte does get Richarlison on the bench, which also holds room for new signings Pedro Porro and Arnaut Danjuma. Depth options and two tactical wizards on the touch line should make this a complete game… unless Erling Haaland makes it a fait accompli before it has a chance to become a chess match. (NM)
When these sides met just two weeks ago, Tottenham found themselves 2-0 up at halftime and threatening to cause the Man City upset yet again, effectively handing rivals Arsenal a three-point boost in the title race. Then the second half kicked off, and the two-time defending champions poured in four games, including three in the first 18 minutes. Another fantastic half wasted by Tottenham, though it was typically a poor start followed by a frantic finish of their own. Harry Kane will pass Jimmy Greaves as Spurs’ all-time top scorer when he scores his next goal, taking his total in all competitions to 267. If Kane scores that goal in a Premier League fixture, the record goal will also be his 200th in the league.
Erling Haaland (25 goals) is the only player with more PL goals than Kane (16) this season, and though his numbers are certainly eye-popping, his arrival has clearly unsettled Pep Guardiola’s tactical system to some degree. A season ago, Manchester City conceded just 26 goals in 38 games (0.68 per game). This season, 20 goals in 20 games, up nearly a half-goal per game.
Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur are names that go hand-in-hand for a generation of Premier League viewers, so how fitting that the English center forward has now scored more goals in a Spurs shirt than anyone in history?
Very.
Kane, 29, fired Tottenham in front of Manchester City on Sunday at home, giving Spurs a 1-0 lead against the run of play and earning him his 267th goal in the club’s shirt.
The goal, also his 200th in the Premier League. Only two other players have done that: Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208).
Kane doesn’t turn 30 until the summer. If his ankle cooperates and he stays in Enland, well, sorry Alan.
England star Kane has now passed the legendary, late Jimmy Greaves for most Tottenham goals but needs another 21 to break Greaves’ record for league goals in a Tottenham shirt. Greaves scored 357 goals for Spurs, Chelsea, and West Ham in the pre-Premier League era.
Steve Cooper’s side have won three of their last five Premier League games and are unbeaten in that stretch. Brennan Johnson continue his fine form too as the youngster sent home a beautiful volley in the first half and Forest defended well to keep Leeds at bay with new signing Keylor Navas in fine form in goal.
As for Jesse Marsch and Leeds, they huffed and puffed and wasted big chances in the first half as they’ve now won just two of their last 17 Premier League games and are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference as they haven’t won any of their last seven Premier League games.
Nottingham Forest are now on 24 points, six points above the relegation zone, while Leeds remain on 18 points.
Nottingham Forest did not play well but they did what they had to do as defensively they are so solid, they have a clear plan and they are doing the basics so well. With Brennan Johnson in this kind of form, plus other threats on the break, Forest are looking set to stay in the Premier League quite comfortably. Jesse Marsch and Leeds look very disjointed as they continue to integrate new signings and get players back to full fitness. They looked like a team struggling for confidence and with no win in their last seven the pressure is mounting on Marsch. It seems like they just need one lucky break to get going again and regain their early season form. However, the Leeds fans aren’t happy and a bad week with their two games against in-form Man United could see the owners forced into a change.
Keylor Navas: After arriving from PSG on loan in a major coup, the veteran Costa Rican goalkeeper stood tall in the first half and injured Dean Henderson may struggle to regain his starting spot.
Morgan Gibbs-White: Gave Forest an outlet and never stopped running. His close control took the pressure off his team when they needed it most.
Nottingham Forest head to Fulham on Saturday, Feb. 11. Leeds have two huge rivalry games against Manchester United, first up at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Feb. 8 and then at home on Sunday, Feb. 12.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Leeds live, stream link and start time
We are deep into the four minutes of stoppage time.
Substitute Sam Surridge goes close to making it 2-0. Just off target.
The clock is ticking for Leeds. Just 15 minutes to go. Still 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.
Not a lot going on. Forest happy to sit back, while Leeds have made plenty of subs but they haven’t been able to carve out any big opportunities so far in the second half.
Weston McKennie is on for his Leeds United and Premier League debut. This feels like a game where he can have a big impact and dare I say grab a debut goal from a set piece situation? He’s very good at timing his runs into the box. Summerville is on too as Roca and Sinisterra depart.
Second half is underway! Nottingham Forest still lead 1-0. Colback and Aurier are on for Mangala and Danilo.
Navas with another fine stop to deny Wilfried Gnonto this time. Forest are making some sloppy mistakes at the back but Leeds aren’t punishing them.
Luke Ayling denied by Keylor Navas after Patrick Bamford missed his kick after a good ball back to him.
What a chance. It should be 1-1. Luis Sinisterra smashes over from close range after a ball over the top finds Gnonto and he tees up Sinisterra but he gets it all wrong. Oh dear.
Forest are sitting back after taking the lead. Leeds are struggling to build anything as they search for an equalizer.
What a start for Forest! Brennan Johnson with a lovely strike and the City Ground is bouncing. Bit of controversy on the Forest goal as Johnson was offside when the ball was initially played towards him when he won the free kick he ended up scoring from. Leeds will feel more than a little aggrieved with that.
GOALLL! Brennan Johnson puts Nottingham Forest 1-0 up against Leeds United. Great strike from the edge of the box after Leeds failed to properly clear a free kick. The Welsh international does it again! #NFFC 1-0 #LUFC
KICK OFF: We are underway at the City Ground and Leeds have started brightly with Gnonto looking sharp down the wing.
Key storylines & star players
Though some fans have started to turn on Jesse Marsch, the American manager has seemingly been fully backed by the club’s hierarchy, not through their words but through their actions. Chris Armas was hired as Marsch’s assistant head coach, and then Weston McKennie was signed ahead of deadline day, affording Marsch the opportunity (and money) to further shape the club into his own. When Leeds kick off on Sunday, the only thing separating them from the relegation zone will be five goals in the goal difference column.
After winning just one of their first 12 games back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999, Steve Cooper’s side has gelled and picked up wins over Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leicester since late October. The key to their success? Just five goals conceded in their last six games, with three of the five coming in a single game against Manchester United. Winning with clean sheets, picking up score-draws, after conceding 33 goals in 15 games to start the season.
Nottingham Forest team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Dean Henderson (thigh), Cheikhou Kouyate (thigh), Giulian Biancone (knee), Omar Richards (calf), Moussa Niakhate (thigh), Ryan Yates (illness)
Who’s looking like title contenders and/or favorites?
Almost at the halfway mark of the 2022-23 season, Arsenal and Manchester City are looking head and shoulders above the rest though Newcastle is not going away and Manchester United has surged into contention.
The Gunners will have their hands full for the duration of their title challenge, as Erling Haaland continues to take the Premier League by storm with an almost impossible goal-scoring record.
Uneven Tottenham are hanging in the top four battle, while Liverpool is struggling to stay in the Champions League scrap. Chelsea has some work to do while surprising Fulham, Brentford and Brighton are hanging around on the periphery with fine campaigns.
Who are the candidates for relegation?
Everton, Bournemouth, and Southampton currently occupy the relegation places.
But Leicester, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and Leeds all find themselves within a few points of the bottom three after a topsy-turvy season so far.
Below you will find the latest Premier League table.
