EFL Carabao Cup final 2021: Citizens tipped for no 4 win

Categories: Football | Published by: AC

24/04/2021

EFL Carabao Cup Final 2021 Preview & Predictions

Updated: 25/05/2022

2020-21 EFL Carabao Cup final preview: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur – The Wembley Stadium – Sunday, 25 April 2021 – 16:30 hrs. BST

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur Preview

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other in the 2021 EFL Carabao Cup Final at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday, April 25th. Pep Guardiola's side, aiming for a treble now, were able to overcome city rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the semi-finals while Spurs had an easier path, beating Stoke City and Brentford enroute to the finals.

Tottenham under their new coach Ryan Mason who took over from the ousted Jose Mourinho on April 19th, recorded their first win under the 29-year old manager when they beat Southampton 2-1 in a Premier League clash last Wednesday after a spell of three winless games.

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City have come out of an upsetting loss in the FA Cup semi-finals to an in-form Chelsea side and a 1-2 win over Aston Villa in a League fixture.

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Manchester City form across all competitions: W/W/L/W/L/W

Tottenham form across all competitions: L/W/D/L/D/W

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Key playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is unlikely to recover from an ankle injury in time for Sunday's final clash while veteran striker Sergio Aguero looks doubtful. Also absent in the defense will be center-back John Stones through suspension following his red card in the Aston Villa game.

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Raheem Sterling for reasons unexplained looks a doubtful starter. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen is expected to be in the starting XI having featured in every cup game for City this season. With Stones out, a start for Aymeric Laporte seems a certainty while Joao Cancelo can hope for a recall.

New coach Ryan Mason will be without ace scorer Harry Kane who limped off with a serious-looking ankle injury in the 2-2 draw against Everton last week. Full-back duo Ben Davies and Matt Doherty are two of Spurs' injury concerns in the defense.

Dele Alli and Harry Winks will be hoping for starts under Mason, but with a serious lack of playing time it remains a doubt whether they will be made to feature in an event as important as this one.

Manchester City starting XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Steffen (goal); Cancelo, Laporte, Diaz, Walker; Gundogan, Rodrigo; Silva, Foden, Jesus; Mahrez

Tottenham starting XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Ndombele, Hojbjerg; Bale, Celso, Moura; Son Hueng-Min

Spurs’ record in the EFL Cup is not very impressive despite having earned some degree of success. Tottenham have now made it to the League Cup final four times in the past thirteen years.

The last time that Spurs lifted a major trophy was in the 2008 EFL Cup but they have lost twice in the finals since then. Spurs’ owner Daniel Levy thus is hoping for new manager Mason to get off to a perfect start as Tottenham seek their first piece of silverware in over a decade.

Manchester City have an excellent record in this competition, having won the last EFL Cups on all three previous years. The Citizens lifted the trophy last season, after beating Aston Villa in the final of the competition.

Spurs will be seriously handicapped by the absence of their main striker Harry Kane (Premier League's top scorer so far with 21 goals) and will have to depend on the abilities of his partner Son Hueng-Min who too is doing well, having found the back of net 15 times in the current edition.

City will be without their midfield architect De Bruyne but still look strong enough to take the Cup one more time. The final could become a fascinating contest with City looking to dominate possession as usual and Spurs trying to hit them on the breaks through the speed of Son, Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura & co.