Titanic clash England | Can City gain ground on Arsenal again?

Arsenal are the big favourites to win the league, halfway through the Premier League season. The leaders are eight points ahead of number two Manchester City and fourteen points ahead of number five Tottenham Hotspur. On Thursday City and Tottenham face each other. Will The Spurs boost their archrivals' chances by beating City?

Despite the big gap in points with Arsenal, Manchester City did become the most scoring team in the Premier League. The Citizens average 2.6 goals per game, 0.7 more than number three in that field Tottenham. In addition City concede an average of 1 goal per game, while that number for Tottenham is at 1.4.

Manchester City have, on average, the most possession of any teams in the Premier League (66.5%). Tottenham have less of that and with 51.5% are in 8th place. Despite the difference in ball possession, City and Spurs both do create many chances. Only Liverpool (6.1 per game) shoots at goal more often than City and Tottenham (5.8).

City has better stats

Then again, there is a big difference in the quality of these chances. For example, City have created 54 100% chances this season (most of all) and the Spurs 31 (8th place). Where Manchester City also trump Thursday's opponents, is high pressure. City recover the ball around the opponent's box most often (6.3 times per game), whereas Tottenham rank 14th in that regard, with an average of 4.5 recoveries.

The Premier League's two top scorers also face each other on Thursday face each other. Erling Haaland has scored 21 goals so far, while Harry Kane is in second place with 15 goals. Haaland also averages the most goals per 90 minutes (1.35), again followed by Kane (0.8). Kevin de Bruyne is the assist king of the Premier League with 10, which is the same number as Spurs' two assist kings, Ivan Perisic and Dejan Kulusevski, combined (5 each).

De Bruyne major standout

De Bruyne is having a rock-solid season anyway. He created the most chances (60) and the most 100% chances (19). With that, he was single-handedly responsible for more than a third of all 100% chances City got this season.

Finally, Manchester City's players also impressed a lot in their passing. The top 5 players who send the most arrived passes per 90 minutes consists entirely of Manchester City. Rodri (88.3) is in first place, followed by Dutchman Nathan Aké (86.4), Ruben Dias (85), Manuel Akanji (79.1) and John Stones (74.4). Virgil van Dijk (71.1) is the first player not playing in light blue in that list.

Betting tips Manchester City - Tottenham Hotspur

In their history, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have faced each other 166 times. Coincidentally, both teams took home the win an equal number of times, that number being 65. Still, City are the big favourites with an odd of 1.36. Betting on a win by Tottenham can earn you 8.5 times your stake while a draw stands at 5.00 is.