Tottenham can outplay Manchester City - Harry Winks

Published on: 14 December 2017

Following Tottenham's 2-0 win over Brighton, Mauricio Pochettino looks ahead to his side's next fixture against leaders Man City. Tottenham are back in fourth after a comfortable 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

LONDON -- Harry Winks says Tottenham will take the game to Manchester City on Saturday and the midfielder believes they have enough quality to outplay the record-breaking league leaders.

Pep Guardiola's City made history with a 15th-consecutive Premier League win -- a 4-0 stroll at bottom-club Swansea -- on Wednesday, surpassing Arsenal's 14-game run between February and August 2002.

They have dominated almost every game from start to finish so far this season and Manchester United's defensive approach did not work last weekend, as City finished with 14 shots, 65 percent of possession and a 2-1 win to extend their lead at the top of the table to 11 points.

Spurs, though, took the game to Spanish and European champions Real Madrid in a 3-1 win at Wembley last month and Winks sees no reason why they cannot match City on Saturday.

"We're confident in our ability. We think we can go there and match them," the England international said after Wednesday's 2-0 win over Brighton at Wembley.

"Obviously it's down to the manager the way we play, but we'll go into the game the way we go into every game: positive and on the front foot. We'll try to out-possess them and outplay them.

"We know what we're like as a team, we know how good we can be, how good we are. It's a good place to set a standard and make a marker and a point.

"There's no point in going into a game and not thinking you're going to win. We're a positive team, we like to think we're one of the top teams in the division. We have to go there and prove that. We're confident at the moment, obviously on the back of two wins and we'll go there with full confidence and try to win.

"It'd be nice to go there and get the win, first and foremost to get the three points. But to end their run would be nice as well, it'll be a good incentive to try to get that as well.

"I know it's going to be tough, I know they're a good side and you have to respect them. There's going to be times in the game when you have to adapt and play a bit differently and that's down to the way the manager wants us to play.

"They're a good side, they're showing how good they are but so are we. We went there last year, performed well and got a good [2-2] draw. We're going to go into the game confident on the back of two Premier League wins. Who knows?"

Harry Winks is confident in Tottenham's chances against Manchester City.

Winks, a cultured midfielder, admits that it is enjoyable to watch City but he has been left frustrated by the 18-point gap between the league leaders and Spurs, who moved back into the top four after Wednesday's win.

Despite that, the 21-year-old refuses to give up hope of winning this season's title.

"Obviously, from a neutral's perspective, you can see they're playing attractive football, doing very well, and you have to sometimes credit the opposition and say, 'They're a very good side,'" Winks said.

"We want to climb the table and as high as we want to be depends on City dropping points. And of course we want them to drop points because we want to win the league. But from a neutral's perspective, you have to credit the way they are playing.

"It is frustrating obviously seeing the points gap between us. But there's still a lot to play for, it's a long season and you can never say never. Stranger things have happened in the Premier League, so you never know."

Saturday's match pips the top-flight's biggest spenders against the team with the lowest net-spend in the division over the last five years, with Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino preferring to develop academy players like Winks, rather than buy expensive new ones.

Asked if Spurs approach made it harder to beat the likes of City to silverware, Winks said: "I don't think so, no. As an academy player, it's what we all crave, it's what we all want. Even these big-money players that have come in have come through academies somewhere before.

"You have to give opportunities to young players, so credit to the manager and the club for doing that here. In every team, in every league, people will be bought for big fees. It's part of the game now. They've got good players and a good team, you just have to respect that."

Winks and teammate Eric Dier visited No.10 Downing Street, the home of the UK Prime Minister, to attend the annual children's Christmas party on Monday night.

"It was a surreal day," Winks said. "I've never been invited there before so it was something I couldn't turn down. It was a children's Christmas party and they wanted some boys from Tottenham to turn up and me and Eric [Dier] decided we would like to go. It's something that was a good experience. I really enjoyed it."

Asked if there were any Spurs fans in the government, Winks said: "There were a few inside No.10. I can't say who, I don't know, but there were a few asking for autographs and photos! I think there was quite a big Spurs following in there."

Dan is ESPN FC's Tottenham correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @Dan_KP.

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Source: espn.co.uk

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