Man City boss Pep Guardiola believes Tottenham will be "more difficult" to beat as they look to bring their run of three successive Premier League defeats to an end.
Having suffered a 2-0 loss against Chelsea prior to the international break, Antonio Conte's men have since seen their top-four aspirations suffer a blow with Southampton and Wolves picking up maximum points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium recently.
City, on the other hand, have won 14 out of their last 15 Premier League games and come into Saturday evening's clash against Spurs on the back of a 5-0 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League in midweek.
Regardless of their contrasting fortunes at present, Guardiola is well aware of the fact that his team could face a backlash from the Lilywhites as they aim to get back on track.
"This is a problem [for us]," he said, as reported by Manchester Evening News. "The fact that they’ve lost three times means they’ll be more difficult. It is difficult for top teams to lose four times in a row.
"They’ve a lot of quality up front, the process they do. Changing manager in middle of the season is not easy, they need time and football does not give time.
"This club did and I’m grateful but all managers need it to convince the players to follow them. All managers need time to try to convince the players to follow what you feel."
One player who will not take to the pitch for City at the weekend is summer signing Jack Grealish.
The England international is currently suffering with a shin injury and Guardiola believes that it could be over the coming weeks when he does make his return.
"I'm not a doctor," he added. "The shin seems much less than he had last season but I don't know, I didn't talk to the doctor.
"We will see, but I think he will not be for tomorrow but hopefully the next weeks."
