Stefan Ortega Moreno and Oscar Bobb both start against Spurs - the only two changes from the side that began against Newcastle United a fortnight ago.

Ederson and Jeremy Doku make way, with John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne also named among the subs.

Erling Haaland is still unavailable and Manuel Akanji remains sidelined with injury.

TEAMS

SPURS:  Vicario, Porro, Romero (C), van de Ven, Udogie, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner, Richarlison

Subs: Forster, Skipp, Dragusin, Maddison, Gil, Royal, Davies, Scarlett, Santiago

CITY XI: Ortega Moreno, Walker (C), Dias,  Aké, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovačić, Bernardo, Alvarez, Foden, Bobb

Subs: Ederson, Stones, Grealish, Doku, De Bruyne, Gómez, Nunes, Susoho,  Lewis

Formation/Tactics

Ortega Moreno will have Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol as the right and left-back respectively with center-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake completing the defensive unit.

Rodrigo will anchor the midfield trio that includes Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo.

The front three are likely to be Bobb (right wing), Phil Foden (left wing) and Julian Alvarez through the middle.

Can City end the Spurs jinx?

Some statistics defy logic.

City’s record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one such anomaly.

Given our success over the past five years, the fact that the Blues have lost all five visits to Spurs’ new home - without scoring a single goal - is somewhat bizarre.

Spurs have had very good teams during that phase, but have never been title contenders, so something doesn’t quite add up.

We’ve had 84 shots in those five matches, 22 of which were on target, yet none went into the back of the Spurs net.

It’s tempting fate to suggest that one of these days - perhaps even this evening - the Blues will go to the other extreme and score  two or three goals in one visit.

The rub of the green would certainly help, yet this is perhaps the hosts’ best side for many years, with Ange Postecoglou overseeing  a wave of optimism with his brand of football thrilling to watch - as demonstrated in the 3-3 draw at the Etihad seven weeks ago.

And to think, it could have all been so different had Sergio Aguero scored from the spot after just 13 minutes of our first ever game there!

This will be an intense test for the Blues who go to North London looking to defend the FA Cup we won last June against Manchester United.

The one positive note for City fans is that Son Heung-min - who has scored four goals in our five defeats there - and of course Harry Kane, who has been another thorn in our side over the years - won’t be playing this time.

But it’s hard to imagine many more tougher examinations than Spurs away.

 

Stats and facts

      This will be the 15th game between Tottenham and City in the FA Cup and first since a fourth round replay in 2003-04 when City came from 3-0 down at half-time with 10 men to win 4-3, with Jon Macken scoring a 90th-minute winner.

     City have lost all five of their away games in all competitions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Spurs, failing to score in every match. City have attempted 84 shots with 22 on target in those five games without ever finding the net.

      Tottenham Hotspur have won 12 of their last 13 home games in the FA Cup (D1) since losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace back in February 2016 at White Hart Lane. This is the first time they’ll face the holders of the competition on home soil since February 1952, losing 3-0 to Newcastle United.

     City have won their last 21 FA Cup matches not played at Wembley, a run stretching back to January 2019, with their last three defeats coming at the national stadium. Their last defeat in the competition not played at a neutral venue was in February 2018 at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic.

      Phil Foden has been involved in 16 goals in 14 starts in the FA Cup for City (11 goals, 5 assists), scoring five and assisting three more in his last six starts in the competition. He netted two of City’s goals in their 5-0 hammering of Huddersfield Town in this season’s third round.

MAN CITY APP COVERAGE

The official Manchester City app allows you to follow all of the action all from your fingertips.

Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, with our Matchday Live show set to being around 19:00 (UK).

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Special guests Brian Barry-Murphy and Michael Brown will be in the studio with host Natalie Pike to offer City-centric analysis before, during and after the match.

They will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.

During the game you can listen to our live audio commentary offering with Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison on hand to guide you through proceedings while our text commentary continues.

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Make sure you have push notifications turned on too so you can be alerted to all the key moments during the match, including goal, red cards and team news.

Highlights from the match will be available from midday on Saturday 27 January as well as a full-match replay, via CITY+, accessible from midnight following the game’s completion.