City did break their goalless, losing record at the billion pound stadium in January when Nathan Ake scored late to send them through in the FA Cup. Having that monkey off their back will surely raise confidence on Tuesday, with the must-win nature of the contest also putting superstitions to one side.
The Blues have a couple of injury concerns – Jack Grealish missed the win over Fulham with illness, while Nathan Ake hobbled off at Craven Cottage.
The injury situation is worse at Tottenham, however. Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies and Timo Werner are all out for the season while Richarlison has been left out of Brazil’s Copa America squad for the summer with manager Dorival Junior stating he is not available due to a new injury.
Ryan Sessegnon, Fraser Forster and Manor Solomon are also on the injury list, giving Ange Postecoglou a selection headache when City visit north London – particularly at left-back.
Midfielder Oliver Skipp started on the left of defence against Burnley on Saturday after Emerson Royal struggled against Liverpool the week before. Radu Dragusin replaced Skipp towards the end of the win which would relegate Burnley, with matchwinner Micky Van de Ven moving over to the left.
However, Postecoglou admits he is reluctant to play the impressive Van de Ven at left-back due to his injury record this season and also the difference in playing at full-back compared to centre-back. That could mean a return for Emerson, or Skipp reclaiming his place.
Rodrigo Bentancur could also come in after returning from injury, potentially replacing Pape Matar Sarr, while Football.London speculate that Dejan Kulusevski’s struggles of late could see him dropped for youngster Dane Scarlett, or the lesser-seen Bryan Gil. Both Gil and Kulusevski started against City in their 3-3 draw at the Etihad in December, with Kulusevski scoring their 90th-minute equaliser – but Gil was substituted at half-time in one of just two starts this campaign.