Premier League preview: Manchester City v Tottenham

League leaders Manchester City host entertaining challengers Tottenham Hotspur in the pick of this weekend’s action.

City top the table with 51 points, three points ahead of second-placed Manchester United and five in front of Spurs, who are third.

While Roberto Mancini’s City side continue to dictate terms in the league, they have proven to be far from invincible in recent weeks, suffering three defeats from their last five matches in all competitions.

The shaky run began with a 1-0 loss away to Sunderland on January 2, and although they hit back with a 3-0 win over Liverpool, City bowed out of the FA Cup, going down 3-2 at home to neighbours Manchester United on January 8.

They also trail in the Carling Cup semi-final following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg at home to Liverpool.

Mancini’s men did manage a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic on Monday to preserve their buffer at the top of the league standings, but it was a far from convincing performance against one of the division’s struggling teams.

Spurs are likely to offer a far sterner test of City’s credentials when they arrive at Etihad Stadium.

Harry Redknapp’s team can lay a strong claim to being one of the most watchable teams in Europe this season.

Talents such as Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart have been complimented by the arrival of Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor, although the latter – on loan at Spurs from City – is ineligible to play against his parent club.

Tottenham are unbeaten from nine matches in all competitions, but a run of three wins in succession came to an end with a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on Saturday.

And while the Spurs fans may hold out hope of ending their 51-year wait for a league title, City defender Joleon Lescott has doubts about the north London club’s championship credentials.

“No disrespect to Spurs but we see Man United as our main rivals because they’re second in the league,” Lescott said.

“As much as the points are vital to create a gap between us and Spurs, it’s more important to pull away from Man United.”

“Maybe the neutrals want Spurs to win it rather than City or United but we’re not getting involved in any of that. We’re just here to do a job and hopefully win the league.”

It will be up to Redknapp and Spurs to prove Lescott wrong, and cement their status as genuine contenders with victory in the blue half of Manchester on Sunday.