Man City vs Tottenham LIVE: Premier League result and final score as late Dejan Kulusevski goal stuns hosts

City get us underway in front of their home fans as we begin to bring the footballing weekend to its conclusion.

Closing in on kick-off here, with the atmosphere building nicely inside the Etihad. We’ve had a superb afternoon of football so far - can we end it on a high here?

It was a pre-season friendly with a legacy, one that sparked an interest in Pep Guardiola. As he did his research – even with nothing at stake, he wanted to be prepared – he took heed of a manager who plied his trade almost 6,000 miles away, in a league that attracts little attention in England.

On Sunday, for Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur, he will share a touchline with Ange Postecoglou as peers: in 2019, they worked within the same wider footballing family, but the similarities may have ended there.

Postecoglou coached Yokohama F Marinos; the City Football Group have a stake in the Japanese club and as Manchester City prepared for the 2019-20 season, they faced Yokohama, part-way through a J1 League campaign that saw them crowned champions.

“I saw some games before,” Guardiola recalled. “And I said, ‘wow, there are things that I like’. I said to the players that I know we are not ready because it is pre-season but we are going to face a good team who can challenge us.”

City won 3-1; as Guardiola readily recalled, they had better players. Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scored that day. The starters also included Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Leroy Sane and David and Bernardo Silva.

But it formed a conviction in Guardiola that it was worth keeping an eye on the Australian manager in Japan.

Big match preview by Richard Jolly

What a day it’s been in the Premier League so far! Liverpool scored twice late on to beat Fulham in a seven-goal thriller, which means the Reds go above Manchester City in the table.

City will go second again should they defeat Tottenham.

• Liverpool 4-3 Fulham
• Chelsea 3-2 Brighton
• Bournemouth 2-2 Aston Villa
• West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace

Ange Postecoglou has cited the early part of Manchester City’s journey under Pep Guardiola as a reason why he has total conviction in his ideas at Tottenham.

“There are plenty of coaches that coach very differently to me, but they’re at that club for four or five years and they have that success,” he said. “That’s what I’m talking about with a plan.

“It’s not about just playing one way or having a clear identity. Having a plan means getting the right people involved in the club who you believe will take you where you want to go.

“Then you invest in them, in the club, in the squad and you stick to that plan. It doesn’t mean that’s just exactly the same as anyone else.

“City are different to Arsenal, Arsenal are different to Liverpool, Liverpool are different to both of them but as far as I can see they have the same managers and they’ve gone through tough times.

“They saw something in them. You have to show something, it’s not just about blindly appointing someone and saying you’ve got five years, but those managers have shown they have a plan and the club have said ‘let’s back these people.”’

Pep Guardiola has no doubt Manchester City’s fans will be there to lift the team if they ever hit a poor run.

City supporters have seen little but success during Guardiola’s reign as manager, winning five Premier League titles and a glorious treble last season.

Yet Guardiola recognises that run may one day come to an end and it is then the City manager hopes the fans, so used to being entertained, will be able to inspire them.

The Spaniard said: “We want the fans to enjoy and have fun, have one hour and 30 minutes in good moments. That depends on us. When we play good, always they are there.

“It’s just sometimes the situation is not going well. In that moment it’s not because the players don’t want it - because they’ve proved over how many years their consistency - but it is in that moment we need them.

“Of course we won a lot and, in the future, maybe you have to understand in the mind that this is an exception. It’s not normal to win the treble, it’s not normal to win five Premier Leagues in six years.

“You have to understand that - OK, continue to enjoy - but if the bad moments are coming this season and the next one and the next one, you have to be there.

“And I’m pretty sure they’ll be there because it’s a club that has come from Maine Road and from being in mid-table, not fighting for the titles. They were there all the time.

“I was not here but the people talk to me. So if it’s coming back down a little, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ Do what you have to do to come back there on top of the league and don’t be down for a long time.”

From Opta:

• Tottenham Hotspur have lost their last three Premier League matches, having been unbeaten in their previous 11 games (W9 D2). Spurs haven’t had a longer losing run since losing six on the spin in October and November 2004, with Jacques Santini and Martin Jol managing three games each in that run. The last Spurs manager to lose four in a row was David Pleat in March and April 2004.
• Tottenham have scored first in their last three Premier League matches but gone on to lose all three, only the fifth side to do that in Premier League history and first since Leicester in December 2014. No team has ever scored first and lost four games in a row.

Three changes for Manchester City from midweek - as Ederson, Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvaraz come in.

Tottenham make one change from last week’s defeat to Aston Villa, as Yves Bissouma replaces the injured Rodrigo Bentancur after returning from suspension.

Emerson Royal and Ben Davies continue as the centre-back pair but Richarlison is back on the bench.

Man City: Ederson, Walker, Gvardiol, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Silva, Foden, Doku, Alvarez, Haaland

Tottenham: Vicario, Udogie, Porro, Royal, Davies, Bissouma, Lo Celso, Johnson, Kulusevski, Gil, Son

We’ll bring you team news in a couple of minutes: Postecoglou did not include a single centre-back or defensive midfielder in his starting line-up against Aston Villa last week. Will he be so bold against away at Manchester City?