Man City about to regain Premier League title race advantage over Arsenal and Liverpool

Blink and you might miss it. The impending Premier League showdown between Manchester City and Tottenham promises to be an absolute barnstormer and viewing figures are bound to be through the roof when the two sides collide in front of the TV cameras on Sunday afternoon.

But while neutrals sit back and enjoy the action, one man will be busy taking notes with John Stones primed and ready to return to give City an additional edge in their latest domestic title defence. His return from a troublesome hip injury is good and bad news for Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool.

Stones was the unsung hero for City last season. Erling Haaland stole the headlines by going goals galore after his £51million transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, while the likes of Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne did what only they can.

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City brought the lot back to the Etihad Stadium in what was a truly memorable campaign. In no small part, Stones evolved from ball-playing defender to a hybrid midfield option, and that tactical transition helped City overcome a few minor obstacles to end up immortalised as treble-winners.

Allowing a full-back or centre-back to step up whenever a side has the ball is nothing new. The late Terry Venables had England playing in a similar vain at Euro 1996 - in swashbuckling fashion - while the inverted role is en vogue on the Premier League stage right now with Arsenal and Liverpool operating similarly.

Yet as City fans will testify, there is only one master.

"He's someone who, for a long time, I have admired his game," said Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold when pressed on Stones