Pep Guardiola is hoping to break Manchester City's hoodoo at Tottenham - but will have to do without Erling Haaland again.
Haaland is back in training after a foot injury, joining in sessions during City's warm-weather camp in Abu Dhabi, but not deemed ready for involvement in Friday's FA Cup fourth round clash.
City have never scored at Tottenham's new stadium - losing all five games dating back to 2018 - and Guardiola has struggled to understand why their form has been so poor.
'It happened at White Hart Lane - not just this stadium,' he said.
'We play good - but not able to win. It's happened many times but hopefully we can break it.
'Spurs are exceptional, since Mauricio Pochettino was manager. Always you think, "why are they not able to be there in the last stages of the Champions League?"'
Guardiola has seen the majority of his big hitters, including Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones, return from injuries as they look to stay in all remaining competitions.
Haaland and Manuel Akanji are the only stars unavailable and the former's comeback was halted by a problem earlier in the month.
'We thought it was a bit less but in the end it was a little bit of a fracture of the bone,' Guardiola added.
'When you have this injury it's a question of time, people say six to eight weeks.
'It is not about how much you work. The bone needs time to close. It is almost two months.
'He feels good and now he needs time to take the rhythm and start to give him minutes when he will be fit.'
Meanwhile, the signing of £12.5million midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate was confirmed on Thursday.
The 18-year-old is spending a year back on loan at River, although that arrangement could be reviewed in the summer.
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