Tottenham host champions Manchester City in the big Premier League game on Sunday, after Newcastle and West Ham have first gone head-to-head at St James’ Park.
After seven games on Saturday, the opening weekend of the new season continues with just two on Sunday and all eyes will be on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 4:30pm when Pep Guardiola’s champions will look to start their title defence with a statement win.
Much of the focus in the build-up to the game has been on Spurs’ star striker Harry Kane, who remains City’s top transfer target after being the subject of a reported £100million bid. The England captain only returned to training on Friday and new boss Nuno Espirito Santo says he will make a late decision over whether to include him in the squad.
Kane Sideshow
It would be a strange scenario seeing Kane line up against the side he appears desperate to join and due to his lack of pre-season training it appears unlikely, but Nuno knows he has a much better chance of kicking his reign off with a victory if the 28-year-old plays.
City have already splashed the cash on Jack Grealish this summer and the £100million man will hope to make an instant impact if he is selected from the start. Guardiola has suggested the other players involved in the latter stages of this summer’s Euros with England and the Copa America with Brazil – Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus – could all feature as well.
The wait is almost over!
#ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/hXmC40jPmt
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 14, 2021
The visitors won’t be at full-strength, however, as Phil Foden is out with a foot injury and Kevin De Bruyne is still working his way back to full fitness following an ankle injury.
After they comfortably won the title last season, finishing 24 points ahead of seventh-placed Spurs in the process, it’s no surprise to see City 4/6 favourites to win, with Tottenham 9/2 to come out on top, like they did in the corresponding fixture in November last term when Jose Mourinho oversaw a 2-0 victory.
Plenty has changed since then with Spurs eventually settling on former Wolves boss Nuno as their new coach after a troubled and lengthy search and they have made some eye-catching signings with the highly-rated Bryan Gil joining from Sevilla alongside defender Cristian Romero from Atalanta.
Comfortable Away Win?
However, with the ongoing uncertainty over Kane’s future and Nuno still settling in, City can take advantage and underline why they are the team the rest must try and stop this season. An away win by a two-goal margin appeals at 19/5.
At 2pm, Newcastle are the outsiders at 9/4 to start the season with a victory when they welcome one of last term’s surprise packages, West Ham, to St James’ Park.
The Magpies, who ended the campaign in a comfortable 12th, have been boosted in recent days by the permanent arrival of Joe Willock after his outstanding spell on loan last season but Steve Bruce’s squad still looks short in plenty of key areas.
Hammers to Start Brightly
The Hammers are a tempting 6/5 to come out on top after they finished sixth in 2020-21, just two points adrift of the top four, as David Moyes worked wonders in east London.
Aside from signing goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, Moyes has so far been unable to strengthen his squad significantly over the summer while last season’s loan star, Jesse Lingard, has returned to Manchester United for now.
Despite that, they still have several top-quality and reliable performers in the shape of Aaron Cresswell, Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice and Michail Antonio remains a big goal threat.
*All odds correct at time of writing