Antonio Conte eagerly awaiting rare chance for Eric Dier and Cristian Romero in Tottenham’s trip to Man City

Antonio Conte is looking forward to finally pairing Eric Dier and Cristian Romero at the back against Manchester City on Saturday.

Dier has played just twice this year due to a niggling thigh problem and has missed the last three matches, including the back-to-back home defeats to Southampton and Wolves.

The England international is available for the daunting visit to the Etihad Stadium and is set to play alongside Romero in the league for only the second time under Conte.

The Argentine has also spent time on the sidelines, returning from a three-month lay-off with a hamstring problem at the start of February.

“This is good news and important news for us,” Conte said of Dier's impending return. “As you know very well Eric Dier is an important player for us as he has a strong personality, good quality and is strong physically. He is an important player for me.

“Tomorrow for the second time in the league since I arrived they are going to play together, Eric Dier and Romero. For one reason or another they were not able to start together. Tomorrow it will be a good game also because the game is difficult. And we need Eric to play and also Cristian.”

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Conte says his players must be prepared to make sacrifices without the ball against the runaway league leaders but insists they have a plan for hurting the champions after a week of thorough analysis.

“For sure when you play against Manchester City, you have to know that you will concede the ball and normally Manchester City finish the game with 65, 70, 75 per cent of possession," Conte said.

“They have been working for many years together and there are a