Man City's winless and goalless run at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - explained

After Rodri's strike in Istanbul sealed a historic treble, questions regarding Manchester City's motivation for 2023/24 swift to arise. For Pep Guardiola, the answer was obvious: "Score a goal against Spurs away."

The Spaniard's Cityzens are once again chasing history as they go in search of an unprecedented fourth-straight Premier League title. Having endured their annual blip before Kevin De Bruyne produced a John Cena at the 2008 Royal Rumble-esque return at St.James' Park, City seem primed to establish themselves as, arguably, the greatest British team of all time.

Moreover, the FA Cup fourth-round draw has handed Guardiola an additional opportunity to achieve his ultimate goal.

Amid their pre-Christmas blip, City once again succumbed to more Lilywhite voodoo magic at the Etihad as Ange Postecoglou's undermanned unit snatched a dramatic 3-3 draw.

The Sky Blues will return to the cursed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium twice during the second half of the season, and Guardiola will be desperate for his side to break their duck in Spurs' shiny new amphitheatre before their potentially crucial Premier League meeting in late April.

Here's a reminder of City's woeful record at Spurs' new ground ahead of their FA Cup fourth round clash in north London.

Tottenham 1-0 Man City - April 2019

Man City's first trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium arrived less than a week after its official opening. Spurs celebrated victory against Crystal Palace in their imperious new arena, but their subsequent triumph over the Cityzens was undoubtedly greater in significance.

The two Premier League clubs met in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with domestic champions-elect City the comfortable favourites to progress.

However, Spurs produced their most emphatic home performance against the Cityzens amid a deserved 1-0 win. Guardiola strangely opted against including De Bruyne and Leroy Sane in his starting XI, but the visitors had a great chance to take a first-half lead when Danny Rose was penalised for handball in the Spurs box. Sergio Aguero, however, was denied by Hugo Lloris from 12 yards.

The hosts then did an excellent job of stymying Guardiola's side. Moussa Sissoko was dominant in midfield, and City were limited to half-chances thereafter. Spurs' physically impressive performance was rewarded late on when Son Heung-min fired past Ederson.

Mauricio Pochettino's men would then memorably progress into the semi-finals on away goals.

Tottenham 2-0 Man City - February 2020

In truth, the remainder of Tottenham's victories over City in their new stadium are tainted with good fortune.

Jose Mourinho took charge of Spurs' victory in February 2020 - a bout best remembered for Steven Bergwijn's fantastic debut goal.

While this would prove to be the poorest of recent Cityzen iterations with Pep at the helm, the visitors were nonetheless dominant before Oleksandr Zinchenko's red card. Aguero had an effort expertly touched onto the post by Lloris before the Frenchman denied Ilkay Gundogan from the penalty spot. Raheem Sterling's subsequent dive from the rebound then sparked a vintage Jose sequence on the touchline.

Gundogan missed a gilt-edge chance at the start of the second period before the game's defining sequence. Zinchenko's dismissal sparked the Lilywhites into life, and Bergwijn's second-best moment in a Spurs shirt swiftly followed. A flattened City, who racked up much of their 3.25 xG before going down to ten, struggled to muster a response before Son took the game beyond them with a typically efficient finish.

Tottenham 2-0 Man City - November 2020

Mourinho once again duelled old adversary Guardiola as his Spurs side climbed to the top of the Premier League table with this victory at an empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

On this occasion, the hosts defended a lead from the outset as Son yet again found the back of the net. Tanguy Ndombele's deft pass in behind set the South Korean free, and the forward made no mistake against an onrushing Ederson.

City dominated territorially, but there was a vintage element about this Mourinho-led performance. Spurs, unlike in February, were resolute defensively and didn't give City an inch after Aymeric Laporte had a first-half equaliser ruled out following VAR intervention.

The hosts' performance was measured, controlled and efficient, with Giovani Lo Celso scoring the dagger minutes after coming on following some excellent work in transition from Harry Kane. Lloris was forced to save late on from Ruben Dias, but City had otherwise appeared toothless and one-paced.

"Mourinho's teams are like this, you make a mistake and they punish you on the counter-attack," Pep summarised post-match.

Tottenham 1-0 Man City - August 2021

There is no good time to face Guardiola's imperious outfit but the start of the season has always been seen as the most favourable. Perhaps a couple of new signings need to adjust or there is a wrinkle in the Spaniard's system that requires adaptation.

Legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick has always treated the first month of the 'regular' season as an extended pre-season, and perhaps Guardiola views August in a similar light.

Record-breaking summer arrival Jack Grealish was City's standout performer as the visitors slumped to yet another defeat in N17. Nuno Espirito Santo marauded the home dugout on his Tottenham bow, with Son delivering the decisive moment at the start of the second half as the Sky Blues once again failed to contain the hosts on the counter.

Guardiola's side had started brightly, but the chances they created were hardly clear-cut. A buoyant home crowd, keen to see their side get one over City given their summer chase for Harry Kane (who was absent), smelt blood. After Son expertly rounded off a flowing Spurs transition to give them the lead, City were persistent but never relentless.

Bergwijn missed the best chance of the second half to double Tottenham's lead, and, in the end, Nuno's men held on pretty comfortably for their slender victory. This was also the first time City surrendered more than 1.0 xG at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham 1-0 Man City - February 2023

While Kane wasn't involved in Spurs' prior triumph over the Cityzens, this victory was all about the Lilywhite icon.

A rare Rodri mistake was pounced on by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who teed up Kane to break Tottenham's all-time scoring record. His 267th strike - and 200th in the Premier League - was coolly bobbled beyond Ederson 15 minutes into proceedings.

This was undoubtedly one of City's poorest showings of their treble-winning campaign, with another defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaving Arsenal five points clear at the summit having played a game fewer.

The visitors had their chances; Riyad Mahrez hit the crossbar with a fierce effort, while Julian Alvarez twice went close in the second half. However, this miserable outing in north London provided further evidence for a need to tinker.

A "sad" Guardiola heaped praise on Kane post-match, as goalscoring machine Erling Haaland notched a mere 27 touches in the defeat.

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