Rodrigo Bentancur has quietly handed Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham advantage ahead Manchester City game

Tottenham feel that they have been dealt a raw deal after midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was banned for seven matches following his racial comments regarding Tottenham teammate Son Heung-min. The club has admitted that their key midfielder was wrong but feel that the punishment was severe and have vowed to appeal the decision.

Bentancur was given a seven-game suspension, a £100,000 fine, and was also ordered to attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme for comments he made during an interview, which contained a racial slur regarding Son Heung-min.

Tottenham have in no way defended his comments but feel that the punishment is ‘severe,’ which is the reason they are appealing it. In case they are unable to reduce the ban, Ange Postecoglou will have to use this as a "us against the world" syndrome to motivate his players as they look to turn around what has been an inconsistent season so far.

Going to the Etihad is always a tough match for any team, but going there without one of your key midfielders, who has been banned, will make the task even more herculean. However, in football, almost every misfortune can be channeled in the right way and may serve as the motivation they need to get something out of the game.

Teams that have been able to get something against Pep Guardiola's side often need a purpose—something to keep them alive and alert. That purpose could be the unfairness they feel has been handed out to them.

This has been a strange campaign for Ange Postecoglou’s side, who have been able to rise to the occasion against the top teams but have struggled against the teams they should be dominating. They could only draw against Leicester, then gave Crystal Palace and Ipswich their first wins. They also managed to throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton.

But they have been able to beat Aston Villa and Manchester United in the league, as well as knock out Manchester City from the League Cup.