Conte's revealing Spurs comments give Man City mental advantage after Guardiola challenge

In most games, Manchester City step onto the pitch knowing they are the better team - and their opponents are aware of that too.

Saturday's clash with Tottenham should be one of the rare occasions where there could be some doubt in City minds, given Spurs' decent recent record at taking points from the Blues or knocking them out of cup competitions. With Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, City can never relax against Tottenham, who will always fancy their chances of getting a result against Pep Guardiola's men.

However, comments have emerged from new Spurs boss Antonio Conte that will focus minds in the visiting squad on their own issues when they travel to City on Saturday.

Just two-and-a-half years after knocking out City on the way to the Champions League final, Spurs couldn't be much further away from this weekend's opponents, who will walk out at the Etihad in a completely contrasting frame of mind.

City beat Sporting in Lisbon by 5-0 on Tuesday to take a huge step towards the Champions League final, and will hope to have some of their injured or absent players back on Saturday.

Despite their statement win, Bernardo Silva called City's performance 'sloppy' and 'lucky', while Pep Guardiola said some players underperformed and challenged his side to improve on the ball. Any signs that City may get complacent after their big win was gone within minutes of the full-time whistle, and they arguably have something to prove this weekend.

Not only do they have Guardiola's challenge to respond to, City will also be reacting to Liverpool's result against Norwich earlier in the day, knowing what three points will do for the state of the title race.

Manchester City have started their campaign strongly, sitting at the Premier League