Manchester City’s Spurs Hoodoo

Considered by many to be one of the greatest football managers of all time, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has an impressive managerial record against most sides. However, there does appear to be a team against whom Pep’s magic touch falls short, and that team are their Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

In this article, we will look at whether Pep’s Manchester City really do have a Spurs problem and consider the historical record between the two sides over the years.

Overall Record Even

The first time Manchester City played Tottenham Hotspur was way back in January 1909 in the FA Cup, and even though they were the away team, Spurs won that game by a scoreline of 4-3. Their first league game in League Division One, as it was then known, was in December the following year (1910), and it was a 1-1 draw.

Looking at the statistics, it would be fair to say that historically, Manchester City didn’t have a Spurs hoodoo and that they were the dominant team in the early years. Notable victories include beating Spurs 1-0 en route to winning the FA Cup in 1956 (Spurs were controversially denied a last-minute penalty in this semi-final match); a 6-2 victory in 1962 in League Division One; and a 5-0 win also in the league in 1977.

However, things began to change in the early 1990s. Starting with a 1-0 victory in the League Cup in 1992, Spurs then won six games in a row against Manchester City in both the Premier League and the FA Cup, although Manchester City did manage to turn things around in the 1994 Premier League clash by beating Spurs 5-2.

Interestingly, starting from their very first meeting in the FA Cup in 1909, the head-to-head record of Manchester City against Spurs is exactly even as things stand, with 69 victories each and 37 draws. However, we will now look at their more recent encounters, where the story begins to change.

But Recent Picture Rather Different

Pep Guardiola first signed a contract to manage Manchester City in February 2016 so that he would be in place for the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season. Spurs beat City both home and away in the season prior to Pep, but his arrival appeared to herald a turnaround for the club when they were undefeated in their first eleven domestic and European games in the 2016/17 season.

Unfortunately, this excellent run of early form came to a crashing halt on 2nd October 2016 when City travelled to – yes, you’ve guessed it – White Heart Lane in London, where Spurs inflicted Pep’s first defeat of his Manchester City managerial career.

Spurs won this game 2-0 with an unfortunate own goal after nine minutes scored by Aleksander Kolarov, followed by a second goal after 37 minutes from Dele Alli. City managed to hold Spurs to a 2-2 draw later that season when playing them at home, but you could certainly argue that the Kolarov own goal was the first step towards Pep’s hoodoo under discussion today.

In the Pep Guardiola era, Manchester City have played Spurs 24 times and won 11, lost 10 and drawn three. So results would suggest that Guardiola has beaten Spurs more times than losing to them. However, for a manager of Pep’s calibre, this is a significantly high number of defeats and the only other team he has lost 10 matches against is bitter rivals Liverpool.

Spurs also contributed to one of City’s lowest points last season when they beat them 4-0 at home. This still stands as the only time that Guardiola has lost 4-0 on home turf in his entire managerial career. They also knocked City out of the EFL Cup last season, beating them 2-1 in their round of 16 match.

Taking into consideration the fact that Manchester City finished the last Premier League season in third place and Spurs were just above the relegation zone in 17th, these results look even more surprising and add weight to the argument that Spurs are indeed City’s bogey team.

Latest Result Suggests Pep’s Problems Persist

Gaffer 🫡 pic.twitter.com/0DcdRh5Maj

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 26, 2025

Manchester City sat at the top of the table after the first weekend of the Premier League. A convincing 4-0 win over Wolves propelled them above the other victorious teams thanks to goal difference. Spurs were also successful in their opening match, beating newly promoted Burnley 3-0.

Game week two saw Spurs travel to the Etihad to play Manchester City on home soil. Form appeared to be on City’s side as, since the start of April 2025, they had picked up 26 points, which was the most of any Premier League team. Their new signings, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, had also scored on their top-flight debut against Wolves, in addition to two goals from Erling Haaland, showing a statement of intent for the season ahead.

Spurs, however, had other ideas. Many people thought that City were back to their former selves after such a convincing victory in their opening game. However, the Spurs hoodoo appears to have struck again with Thomas Frank’s side coming away as 2-0 victors. Goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha meant that even the reintroduction of both Phil Foden and Rhodri in the second half could not swing the game City’s way.

City’s newly re-signed keeper James Trafford looked shaky in goal but Spurs were by far the better team, leaving City fans somewhat confused. Was the first game victory just a fluke, or are Spurs really City’s bogey team? Results would suggest that Pep does have a Spurs problem but their fans will be praying that when City travel to Brighton on Sunday, August 31st 2025, they will be back to the form they found against Wolves at the start of the season. Manchester City next play Spurs in the Premier League in January 2026, so it will be very interesting to see whether the hoodoo continues into the new year.