Mauricio Pochettino insists he's 'so excited' ahead of Tottenham's trip to face record-breaking Manchester City: 'We are going there thinking we can win... it's a fantastic challenge'
- Mauricio Pochettino labelled Manchester City as one of the best teams in Europe
- The Tottenham manager insists his team believe they can beat City at the Etihad
- Pep Guardiola's men have won a record 15 consecutive Premier League matches
- Tottenham eased to a 2-0 win over Brighton at Wembley on Wednesday evening
Mauricio Pochettino insists containing Manchester City will not be on his mind on Saturday as he believes Tottenham can beat the Premier League's unbeaten leaders.
Spurs climbed back into the top four on Wednesday after grinding out a 2-0 win over Brighton and now they turn their attention to this weekend's crunch visit to the Etihad Stadium.
City's 4-0 win at Swansea maintained their 11-point lead at the top and provided the latest demonstration of their exceptional quality.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insists he loves to take on the best teams and managers
But Serge Aurier's cross dropped into the top corner against Brighton and a late header from Son Heung-min wrapped up the points to make sure Spurs head north on the back of three consecutive victories.
'We're going to Manchester thinking we can win,' Spurs manager Pochettino said.
'We're going to enjoy it, because it's a fantastic challenge to play against Manchester City. They're the best team in England and one of the best in Europe.
Pochettino played down the significance of leaving Dele Alli out of his XI on Wednesday
'I'm so excited to play, because I love to play against teams and managers like (Pep) Guardiola, that are the best. I'm so motivated and so happy that we are going to play a team at their best.
'I am so happy and so pleased about the performances in the last few weeks: three victories in a row.'
There was also the added positive at Wembley that fit-again Erik Lamela started his first competitive fixture since October 2016 and looked bright before being replaced by Dele Alli late on.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City beat Swansea 4-0 on Wednesday to extend their run to 15
Alli had not been left on the bench for a Premier League fixture since November last year and Pochettino bristled at questions surrounding the forward's omission.
'How does another player at Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool react when they are on the bench? Tottenham is a specialist in creating problems,' Pochettino said.
'Alli was on the bench and then played 20 minutes. He's an important player for us. How do other players react when they are on the bench?
'Sure they are unhappy. No one is happy. Everyone on the bench wanted to play.'
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