Tottenham predicted line-up vs Manchester City as 27-year-old is set to start for the first time in 81 days

Tottenham have James Maddison in the team for the first time this year after manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed he's trained all week. The England midfielder hasn't played since injuring his ankle against Chelsea on the 6th of November 2023.

Postecoglou said: "Team news, from the last game everyone is ok. Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] has recovered. The boys had four days off last week. Madders (Maddison) has been training with us, he had a full training week. Ben [Davies] and Dane Scarlett have just started with the group. Gio [Lo Celso], Manor [Solomon] and Alejo [Veliz] are the only ones still away from it." 

If Maddison goes straight back into the Spurs starting XI, then Dejan Kulusevski, who missed the 2-2 draw to Manchester United due to illness, could move into the front three with out-of-form Brennan Johnson the most likely forward to give way.

Postecoglou has a decision to make in midfield, with Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg both pushing to start alongside Rodrigo Bentancur. The Spurs boss is without captain Son Heung-min, and African duo Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma, but they've coped well without the trio. 

The Lilywhites haven't lost to Manchester City at home since they moved to their new stadium in 2019 and will hope that their recent dominance continues against Pep Guardiola's treble-winning side. There are so many tough calls to make, and having crashed out of the League Cup in the first round, manager Postecoglou will hope his side travel further in the FA Cup. 

So with that in mind, here is the team we anticipate the Australian manager will put out: