Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes Tottenham will again be challenging for the title at the end of the Premier League campaign.
Spurs have finished third and fourth in the standings over the last two seasons and also reached the Champions League final last term, where they lost to Liverpool.
And Guardiola, whose side host the Lilywhites at home on Saturday evening, has no doubts Mauricio Pochettino’s men will prove stubborn opposition this term as well.
He said: “Since I came here to England, every season they have been a contender. Always they were there, always they were tough games.”
Guardiola reported a clean bill of health for the match, with Raheem Sterling again set to lead the line against Tottenham.
The England forward hit the ground running with a hat-trick against West Ham in their season opener and the City boss knows the player is a talent.
Asked if Sterling is one of best in Europe, Guardiola said “There are many and he is one of them. We have many but other clubs do too.”
Click Here: cheap nhl jerseys
Meanwhile, Pochettino has confirmed Tottenham are still without Dele Alli and Ryan Sessegnon for the trip to the Etihad.
Both men have hamstring injuries and are still a couple of weeks away from fitness.
Deadline day Giovani Lo Celso, who has been in the country just over a week, could also be in the squad, though Pochettino has confirmed he will not start.
“We need to assess him,” Pochettino said. “A lot of things have happened in his life now.
“He arrived with no pre-season, of course he is trying to adapt himself, his physical condition, tactically, settle in a new country in a new philosophy and it is not easy.
“I can tell you he won’t be in the starting XI, but if he is going to be involved or not we need to assess today. We need to see how he is and see the balance on the bench.”
Although the Premier League transfer window is closed, clubs in Europe can continue signing players until the end of the month.
Midfielder Christian Eriksen, who has less than a year left on his contract, has been repeatedly linked with a move to Spain.
“I don’t know (if he will be at the club after the window),” said the Tottenham boss.
“My point is to help all of the players, my job is to support them all until they maybe decide to take a different way in their career.”
LIVE on talkSPORT
talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here’s what’s coming up this week…
- Huddersfield Town vs Fulham (Friday, 7.45pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Arsenal vs Burnley (Saturday, 12.30pm) – talkSPORT
- Sunderland vs Portsmouth (Saturday, 12.30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Norwich City vs Newcastle United (Saturday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday, 5.30pm) – talkSPORT
- Reading vs Cardiff City (Sunday, 12pm) – talkSPORT 2
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 as we become your go to destination for all the Premier League action. We’ll bring you LIVE commentary of Premier League games across all three time slots on Saturday – 12.30pm, 3pm and 5.30pm – delivering award-winning coverage to more GameDay listeners than ever.