MARTIN KEOWN TALKS TACTICS: Rico Lewis' role shows how Pep Guardiola is willing to push boundaries

Manchester City and Tottenham meet for the second time in 18 days on Saturday and if the first leg is anything to go by, we’re in for a fierce battle. Spurs led 2-0 at the Etihad, then City won 4-2 thanks to a devastatingly clinical second half.

I want to sit next to Pep Guardiola in the dugout. He is fascinating to listen to because he is a tactical genius.

Before the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley, I had the pleasure of watching Barcelona train at Arsenal’s training ground and Guardiola insisted on training on the smallest pitch available. The idea was that his players would walk out of Wembley feeling like they had acres of space, and Barca used it well, beating United 3-1. It underlines Guardiola’s attention to detail.

After beating Spurs, Guardiola accused his City players and fans of getting too comfortable. He is concerned that, after winning four of the last five Premier League titles, they have slipped out of the comfort zone.

Guardiola likes individuals who are as obsessed with winning as he is. If you’re not ready to embrace that environment and you don’t argue with him, you’ll be sent on loan to Bayern Munich like Joao Cancelo this week. But I want to highlight another full back and that is 18 year old Rico Lewis.

Pep Guardiola has created a canvas where he can position players to help him win the game

Despite his excellent record, Man City seem to be adapting to Erling Haaland

Guardiola is always pushing the boundaries of what is possible. He creates a canvas where he can position players in such a way that they can win him the game.

We’ve seen Guardiola push full backs into midfield and against Tottenham, Lewis did just that. This allowed City to outnumber Spurs’ two-man midfield, giving Ilkay Gundogan the freedom to push forward and helping them dominate possession and build play.

Rico Lewis was excellent against Tottenham, moving inside the field and taking up wider positions

In the second half, Lewis still moved into midfield but also took a wider position in support of Riyad Mahrez.

When Guardiola stays in one place long enough, starlets can break into the first team with his style of play ingrained in the academy; Lewis is a prime example of this.

Erling Haaland has scored 25 Premier League goals and that’s been enough to win the Golden Boot in the last four seasons — but City still seem to be adjusting to playing with a center forward.

Haaland loves an out-swinging cross and Kevin De Bruyne is capable of providing those from both sides. But City’s wingers are more comfortable cutting inside and playing in-swinging crosses with their favorite foot — Mahrez on the left and Jack Grealish on the right — which is less inviting to Haaland.

Guardiola is still looking for the perfect formula, but there remains a strong feeling that the team can win the Premier League. City have lost their last four visits to Tottenham but if they win on Saturday, it will send a big message to the red half of north London.

Antonio Conte has spent the summer so well that I feel this is the strongest Tottenham team we have seen in years. I still think they can get into the top four and maybe get a trophy.

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are capable of winning a trophy and breaking into the top four

Harry Kane will be ruled out for the game against Manchester City as he faces Erling Haaland

Conte used the January window to try to add more thrust to his wing-backs, who are key to his counter-attacking style. Djed Spence and Matt Doherty have left, and Pedro Porro has arrived on loan from Sporting Lisbon. Porro will play on the right and Ivan Perisic on the left with Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon as back-up.

Conte hopes these wing-backs will give him the width and pace he craves, while Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min move inside to unleash vicious shots and feed Harry Kane.

Kane will be fired up for this match. He is second only to Haaland in the Premier League’s scoring charts and has watched the new kid on the block take flight at City — the club he wants to join in 2021.

These two record-chasers clash on Saturday and Kane will want to show, for 90 minutes at least, that he can still be the league’s leading marksman.