Spurs have had a mixed time in the United States so far, beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 before succumbing to a 3-2 defeat by Roma on Wednesday. Performances and fitness work are far more important than results in pre-season matches, though, so Mauricio Pochettino is unlikely to be too disappointed with how things have gone for his team up to now. The two principal targets for Tottenham this term are to win the Premier League title and make progress in the Champions League, which is another reason why their two prior meetings with French and Italian giants should go down as a positive collective experience.
Pep Guardiola's men were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United in their first International Champions Cup encounter, before impressively thrashing European champions Real Madrid by four goals to one. City's defensive shakiness was what let them down in 2016/17 - a third-place finish was far from a disaster, yet it is hard to deny that they failed to live up to expectations - so Pep Guardiola will welcome the opportunity for his charges to test themselves against Premier League rivals at the Nissan Stadium.
Pochettino could hand further opportunities to some of the younger members of his travelling party, although some of those failed to impress when handed a chance against Roma. Kyle Walker-Peters, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josh Onomah struggled to make their mark in that game and may therefore drop out of the XI here, particularly as the start of the Premier League campaign is growing ever closer. Pochettino employed a 3-4-2-1 formation last time out, but Tottenham's formational flexibility is such that they could switch to a 4-2-3-1 on Saturday.
Unlike their upcoming opponents, who are still yet to make a signing this summer, City have spent heavily in the transfer market. Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Benjamin Mendy and former Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker have all joined the club in the last few weeks, as Guardiola eyes the Premier League trophy following a trophy-less season last time out. Longer-serving employees Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne will probably play aongside some of the new faces, but David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan may miss out through a lack of match fitness. Elsewhere, talented youngsters Phil Foden, Tobin Adarabioyo, Patrick Roberts, Brahim Diaz, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Daniel Grimshaw will all hope for an opportunity to impress.
On balance, it could be worth backing a Tottenham victory at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Spurs' lack of summer acquisitions means they have a more settled side than City, which could work to their advantage this weekend. Goals are likely to be on the cards, as they were in Tottenham's two previous International Champions Cup games, so it is worth putting some money on more than 3.5 being scored in total. In the goalscorer market, meanwhile, consider backing Christian Eriksen to find the net anytime.
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