Two teams that started the new Premier League season in positive fashion meet at The Etihad on Saturday lunchtime. Manchester City and Spurs both won comfortably on the opening day, while keeping clean sheets at the back.
Their second game may seem easy to call: Man City have the stronger squad, and will enjoy home advantage, but Tottenham’s record against these opponents is exceptional. A 4-0 away win in last season’s corresponding fixture suggests this may not be as straightforward as the match market suggests.
This is the early, 12.30pm kick-off, and here are some of the key markets for Saturday’s game as part of our MCFC vs THFC preview with betting tips.
Manchester City are the clear favourites here, with most bookmakers offering 4/9 on the home win. The draw follows at best industry odds of 4/1, while victory for Spurs completes the match betting at 6/1.
Man City needed to set down a marker after a poor season in 2024/25. Wolves away won’t be their trickiest fixture of the new campaign, but an emphatic 4-0 win, featuring two goals for Erling Haaland, was a seriously positive start. Spurs were also comfortable, beating newly promoted Burnley at home in a game where Richarlison also scored twice.
The result should be as clear-cut as the market suggests, but the head-to-head record suggests otherwise. Of the last ten games between these two sides across all competitions since the start of the 2021/22 season, Spurs have won five, Man City have won four, and there has been one draw.
Before we consider the result, this preview will take a look at some popular side markets and see if there are some alternatives. In the first goalscorer betting, City’s Erling Haaland is an obvious favourite following his double strike last weekend, and he can be claimed at 13/5. Manchester City players dominate the top of this market with Omar Marmoush at 11/2, followed by Phil Foden at 13/2 and Rayan Cherki at 17/2. Cherki will attract some interest after the French international scored on his debut at Wolves last week.
For Tottenham backers, Dominic Solanke and Richarlison are your first options, with both players available at best odds of 10/1. It’s worth noting that Richarlison started the game against Burnley while Solanke began on the bench.
In regards to some longer odds suggestions, Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders also scored on his City debut last week, and he’s available at 11/1. For Spurs, Brennan Johnson was the team’s top scorer last season, and he’s quoted at a best of 14/1.
Moving on, and Both Teams to Score is on offer for Saturday at a general 8/13. If you are inclined towards taking the ‘no’ option on BTTS, this is listed at 6/5.
In the Total Goals betting, best odds of just 1/2 are on offer for a stake Over the 2.5 line. You can push that to Over 3.5 goals in return for a top price of 6/5. Those expecting a more subdued 90 minutes in Manchester could look to take Under 2.5 goals at 13/8.
This section concludes with some Correct Score options. With the match result market suggesting a comfortable afternoon for the hosts, there may be some interest in Manchester City 3 Spurs 1 at 11/1. A 2-1 victory for Tottenham is available at 20/1, while the 1-1 draw can be backed at 9/1.
MCFC vs THFC Betting Tips Verdict For This Preview
When you’re betting on the result of any match, how much should the ‘bogey team’ factor be taken into account? Manchester City should win this, but their record against Spurs is mixed. Tottenham aren’t exactly dominating these encounters, but they have enjoyed greater recent success against Saturday’s opponents than most Premier League sides.
It can certainly mess with your thinking, and that’s one reason why we’ll avoid the result market this time. We feel City will claim the points, but Spurs can clearly be dangerous, and in case, we’re not into tipping short-odds favourites.
So what are the alternatives? We suspect that this may not be the high scorer that the bookmakers suggest. Under 2.5 goals could be an option, while the ‘no’ bet on BTTS is also tempting. In each of the last three league games between these clubs, Both Teams to Score has failed to land.
The odds for those side bets aren’t too generous, so we’ll switch over to player betting. Man City players offer the shorter prices, for obvious reasons. Omar Marmoush interests us in the anytime scorer markets, but because he started from the bench last week, we were hoping for better odds than 2/1.
As an alternative to Marmoush, we’ll be backing Tottenham’s Richarlison for a goal in 90 minutes. He is a frustrating player, who is injured far too often, but he is also capable of going on a long scoring run when he is fit and firing. Spurs will get chances and Richarlison is the man to put them away.
Matt Harris is a football & golf writer for Just Bookies. Other sports in his portfolio of specialities include cricket. Matt has contributed to innumerable large organisations and media brands. These include: Betfair, BetVictor, USA Betting & Unibet. 