Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs had barely unpacked their Football League kit when City, already FA Cup winners, welcomed them to Hyde Road.

Tottenham Hotspur were elected to the Football League's Second Division in 1908, and their first league meeting with Manchester City came the following year. Both clubs were establishing themselves in the English football pyramid, City having already won the FA Cup in 1904. These early encounters were played at Hyde Road, City's home ground before the move to Maine Road.

Spurs lifted the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge in 1921; a ground more familiar to a certain other London club.

Tottenham claimed the FA Cup in 1921, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge. By this point, both Spurs and City were established First Division sides, and their league meetings had become regular fixtures in the calendar. The interwar period saw the two clubs yo-yo between divisions, but when they met, the matches carried genuine weight.

Ricky Villa's weaving run through the City defence in the replay made the 1981 final immortal.

The 1981 FA Cup final between Tottenham and Manchester City is remembered as one of the competition's finest. The first match at Wembley ended 1-1, with Tommy Hutchison scoring for both sides. The replay, five days later, saw Ricky Villa score one of the greatest FA Cup goals ever, a mazy dribble through the City defence that sealed a 3-2 Spurs victory. It remains a defining moment in the history of both clubs.

A Commonwealth Games legacy reborn as City's 48,000-seat home; Spurs made their first visit to the new ground in 2003-04.

Manchester City relocated from Maine Road to the City of Manchester Stadium, built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The new ground, later renamed the Etihad Stadium, gave City a modern 48,000-seat home and set the stage for the club's transformation. Spurs visited the new venue for the first time in the 2003-04 season, the start of a new chapter in the fixture's history.

One acquisition in 2008 turned City from also-rans into Champions League rivals, rewriting the ambitions of every club beneath them.

The September 2008 takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group transformed Manchester City from mid-table hopefuls into genuine title contenders. The investment reshaped the competitive landscape of English football. For Tottenham, who had been building steadily under various managers, City's sudden rise created a new rival for Champions League places and, eventually, for the league title itself.

Ninety-four minutes of hurt, then 44 years of it; Spurs could only watch history happen to someone else.

The most famous moment in Premier League history arrived on the final day of the 2011-12 season. Sergio Agüero's stoppage-time winner against QPR clinched City's first league title in 44 years. Tottenham's own season ended in disappointment: despite finishing fourth, they were denied a Champions League place by Chelsea's victory in the Champions League final. The two clubs' fortunes were diverging sharply.

Sterling celebrated. VAR disagreed. Spurs reached Madrid on a handball that wasn't.

The 2018-19 Champions League quarter-final between these two sides produced one of the most extraordinary nights in the competition's history. City won the second leg at the Etihad 4-3, but Spurs advanced on away goals. The decisive moment came in stoppage time when Raheem Sterling thought he had scored a winner, only for VAR to rule it out for offside via Fernando Llorente's handball-that-wasn't. Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs went on to reach the final in Madrid.

Four League Cups in a row. City did not just win at Wembley; they made it a habit.

Manchester City beat Tottenham 1-0 in the 2021 League Cup final, with Aymeric Laporte heading the only goal late in the match. It was City's fourth consecutive League Cup triumph. The game was notable as one of the first major finals to welcome fans back after the COVID-19 pandemic, with 8,000 supporters in attendance at Wembley. For Spurs, it extended a trophy drought stretching back to 2008.

Three trophies, one historic season; Guardiola's City completed the Treble in 2022-23, claiming the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City completed an historic Treble in 2022-23, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. Spurs, under Ange Postecoglou from the following season, continued to provide stern opposition at the Etihad. The fixture has become one of the Premier League's most anticipated, consistently delivering high-scoring, tactically absorbing contests between two sides committed to attacking football.

Over 170 meetings, and this fixture still refuses to be predictable.

Manchester City and Tottenham have now met well over 170 times in all competitions. The fixture's modern appeal lies in its tactical richness: two clubs that refuse to sit deep, managed by coaches who prize possession and pressing. At the Etihad, with its steep stands and close-to-the-pitch sightlines, the atmosphere for this match is consistently among the best of the season. Hospitality guests experience it from the heart of the action.