Tottenham host Manchester City this afternoon in a crucial Premier League game in north London.
Spurs will be looking to put a dent in Manchester City’s title challenge by claiming the three points for their own battle to finish in the top four and secure Champions League football for next season.
Facing Manchester City in any situation is a daunting task – one which has been complicated further by the fact Antonio Conte will miss the game and will not manage the team from the touchline.
Antonio Conte will be absent this afternoon (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Why is Antonio Conte not managing Tottenham against Manchester City?
Conte will not be present at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after undergoing surgery earlier in the week.
The club announced on Wednesday morning that the Italian was due to have his gallbladder removed after being taken ill with ‘severe abdominal pain’, which was diagnosed as cholecystitis.
Spurs will miss Conte’s influence from the bench (Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Conte, 53, said on his Instagram stories: ‘Thank you for your lovely messages, my surgery has gone well and I’m already feeling better.
‘Now’s time to recover, I can’t wait to get back on the field with the team.’
Conte, who originally believed his illness was due to a bout of flu, is recuperating back home in Italy with his family.
Training in the week was overseen by assistant manager Cristian Stellini, who will pick the team for the Manchester City game in conjunction with Conte.
Stellini conducted the pre-match media duties and will manage Tottenham from the touchline this afternoon in Conte’s absence.
A date for Conte’s return to first team duties has not yet be revealed, with Tottenham next in action against Leicester on Saturday, February 11.
Who is Cristian Stellini?
Stellini joined Tottenham as assistant manager when Conte was appointed in November 2021.
The 48 year-old Italian has become a familiar face to Spurs fans, having appeared in front of the cameras on media duties during earlier rounds of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Stellini will hold the fort in Conte’s absence (Picture: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
This is also not the first time he has taken charge of Tottenham this season – Stellini led the team to victory in the crucial Champions League group stage win over Marseille after Conte was forced to miss the game in France through suspension.
Stellini worked alongside Conte for a year at Juventus between 2011 and 2012, before later embarking on a brief and unsuccessful spell as a manager in the third tier of Italian football.
Stellini did not follow Conte to Chelsea in 2016, but the two were reunited at Inter Milan in 2019, helping the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto in 2021.
Pep Guardiola on City’s upcoming 2023 transfer window
Rumours of a huge overhaul at Manchester City this summer have been plentiful, with as many as five senior players being touted as potential departures.
Pep Guardiola has been addressing the media ahead of this afternoon’s must-win clash against Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur and was speaking about his side’s upcoming summer window.“What’s important is we make good decisions, take the right players, they get involved in the dynamic we’ve built. This is the intention always. Prices? I think they’ll be more expensive but I don’t know.” [via @BeanymanSports] With a potential left-back, winger, and central midfielder all joining the club this summer, it’s going to be an expensive one for the reigning champions but a change that is necessary to keep hunger and motivation for titles at an all-time high.
Guardiola admitted that when the club decides a player is too costly, no matter how good they are City will not pursue them. “We’ve done it many times recently; when Man City decides a player is too much, we don’t take the,m, I have in memory four or five players – the club wanted to negotiate [their price], and we decided no, it is too much and we didn’t do it. [via @BeanymanSports]
Guardiola and his team will have to do without transfers until the end of the season, and the Spaniard’s squad need to rise to the challenge and capitalise on Arsenal’s loss yesterday to close the gap to Mikel Arteta’s side. After Guardiola’s rallying message to his players and the fans after the victory against Spurs at the Etihad just over two weeks ago, a huge statement performance is needed from his City team today.
Source: metro.co.uk; manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk
