The Premier League champions will need to score at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time if they are to win Friday's FA Cup clash

"Lads, it's Tottenham" is what Alex Ferguson once said to his ultra-confident Manchester United players as he justified not giving a team-talk before facing Spurs, such was the lack of threat their opponents typically posed to his all-conquering side. But if Pep Guardiola were to mutter the same words to his Manchester City players, they would be more likely to shake with fear than burst into laughter.

Despite not winning a trophy since 2008 and rarely being in the conversation for the Premier League title, Tottenham have proved to be a stone in Guardiola's shoe like few other teams. Only Liverpool have a better record than Spurs against Guardiola, and it doesn't matter seem to matter who is in charge, with Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini, and current boss Ange Postecoglou all managing to frustrate City since Guardiola took over in 2016.

City's lacklustre record against Spurs, both home and away, has come into sharp focus ahead of Friday's FA Cup fourth-round tie in north London, where Guardiola's side must end their hoodoo if they want to maintain hopes of repeating last season's incredible treble triumph.

Getty Five defeats in a row

The Tottenham Hotspur stadium wowed onlookers when it opened in April 2019 and it is widely regarded as the best club ground in England, if not Europe. Guardiola must hate the sight of the place, however, as his side have lost all five matches they have played there.

They were the second team to play there when they took on Spurs in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, losing 1-0 in a game when luck deserted them. Sergio Aguero squandered an early penalty and then Son Heung-min struck the only goal after Fabian Delph had stood still after wrongly alleging that the ball had gone out of play.

That result proved crucial to Spurs knocking City out of the competition on away goals following an enthralling 4-3 win for Guardiola's side in the second leg in Manchester. Spurs were the victors again in City's first league visit to the stadium in February 2020, with Ilkay Gundogan missing a penalty in a 2-0 win for Spurs as Mourinho got one over his old foe.

AdvertisementGettyLosing in an empty stadium

City's terrible record in N17 continued when no supporters were allowed in the stadium due to coronavirus restrictions in November 2020, with Mourinho's side winning 2-0. The Portuguese had been replaced by compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo by the time of City's next visit to Tottenham on the opening day of the 2021-22 season and it was another day to forget for the visitors, Son scoring again in a 1-0 win for Spurs. It was one of just five league matches Spurs won under Espirito Santo, who was sacked in November.

Even during City's incredible treble-winning campaign last year, they still couldn't win away to Tottenham, who saw out a 1-0 victory in February 2023 thanks to an early Harry Kane goal. That was when Conte was absent from the dugout after needing surgery to treat gallbladder stones, with his assistant Stellini taking charge for the game and guiding Spurs to a fifth consecutive home win over City.

Stellini had a hapless time as Spurs' interim manager and was sacked just a month after succeeding Conte following a 6-1 defeat by Newcastle. But the fact he was able to beat City shows the hold Tottenham seem to have over Guardiola's side. The defeat seemed to awaken something in City, however, as they did not lose another match until wrapping up the Premier League title in May.

GettyNot even one goal

The fact that a team as strong as City have lost five consecutive visits to Tottenham is remarkable in itself, but it is not the most damning aspect of their record in the blue and white half of north London. Guardiola's side have not managed to score a single goal in more than 450 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Guardiola is well aware of this statistical anomaly and brought it up when asked at the start of this season what else he had to achieve in England after guiding City to the treble. "Score a goal against Spurs away," he said. "It’s why I stay: I want to beat Spurs away.”

Ahead of Friday's trip to London, the coach defended his team's performances in all their previous visits. "The feeling is most of the time we were exceptional. Exceptional is not the right word because we could not win but we played really good," he said.

"You see how we played and the stats, I don’t believe much in the stats but the way we behave and the way we play was good. But the reality is that, no goals and six defeats. They are much better than us. That is the reality, how tough it is for us."

GettyPain at The Lane

Curiously, the only times City have beaten Tottenham away during Guardiola's time in charge were at Wembley Stadium, where Spurs were forced to play between 2017 and 2019 while their new ground was being built. Wembley holds special memories for Guardiola as he won the European Cup there as a player with Barcelona in 1992 and as a coach in 2011. City steamrolled Spurs 3-1 at the iconic stadium in 2018 as they swept to the title while the following campaign a Riyad Mahrez goal was enough to secure a narrow 1-0 victory.

They also beat them in the 2021 Carabao Cup final in an empty Wembley. City's problems began when Tottenham moved into their new ground, although Guardiola's side had also struggled at Spurs' traditional home, White Hart Lane. In fact, the now demolished stadium was the scene of Guardiola's first ever defeat in the Premier League.

City had laid down a marker in the coach's debut season by winning their opening six games, scoring 18 goals in the process. But the dream start was halted by Tottenham, who were enjoying one of their finest spells of form under Mauricio Pochettino. Aleksandar Kolorov scored a freak own goal to put City on the backfoot in the ninth minute and then Dele Alli clinched a 2-0 win. That match is clearly etched into Guardiola's memory as he brought it up on Thursday, also taking the opportunity to praise Spurs' rise over the last decade.

"It happened at White Hart Lane too, not just this stadium. They’re exceptional, since Pochettino was manager, all the other managers too," he said. "They have exceptional players – always you think why are they not able to be there in the last stages, in the Champions League, although they got to the final a few years ago. It’s a fantastic, historical club, the players are really good, when I analyse the performance, what we create, concede, it’s the same as what happened at home games here. We played good – but were not able to win."