Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have become two of the most attractive and technically gifted sides to watch in the Premier League.
The two sides meet again this Saturday night in an early season treat – a game you can listen to live on talkSPORT from 5.30pm.
But it’s fair to say it was not always the glamour fixture of the division.
Before the VAR drama and the battles for the final Champions League spot, Spurs and Man City were desperately trying to escape the shackles of mid-table mediocrity and break into the upper echelons of the table.
It was as much about proving themselves as it was escaping the shadows of their bitter rivals, Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
Before City were taken over in 2008, the two sides met at Eastlands (as it was formerly known) as the season reached its climax in March.
But unlike the present day, neither side were chasing for the title.
In fact, Juande Ramos took his Spurs side to Manchester to face a side who had not won a game at home in four months.
LIVE on talkSPORT
talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here’s what’s coming up this week…
- Huddersfield Town vs Fulham (Friday, 7.45pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Arsenal vs Burnley (Saturday, 12.30pm) – talkSPORT
- Sunderland vs Portsmouth (Saturday, 12.30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Norwich City vs Newcastle United (Saturday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday, 5.30pm) – talkSPORT
- Reading vs Cardiff City (Sunday, 12pm) – talkSPORT 2
The game ended 2-1 to City, with Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onouha scoring for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side to cancel out Robbie Keane’s opener.
It’s fair to say the two sides have changed drastically since those days, but fans will still want to see just how different the starting XI’s from that day were compared to now.
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 as we become your go to destination for all the Premier League action.
We’ll bring you LIVE commentary of Premier League games across all three time slots on Saturday – 12.30pm, 3pm and 5.30pm – delivering award-winning coverage to more GameDay listeners than ever.
