Tottenham injury news: Spurs' midfield quartet ruled out for Manchester City clash

Tottenham Hotspur's injury woes continue as they are without four midfielders for the clash against Manchester City on Saturday, 26 September. Mauricio Pochettino will have to continue to play Eric Dier in midfield due to the absence of Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele and Alex Pritchard.

The former two are key players for the Argentine, and had formed a solid partnership since breaking in the first-team last season. The Algerian has been sidelined after picking up an ankle injury earlier in the month, while the England international has been missing since being taken off after scoring the winner against Sunderland on 13 September.

The duo also missed the midweek Capital One Cup game which was won by arch rivals Arsenal and the former Saints manager has revealed that the quartet are close to returning to training but will be out for the visit of the Premier League leaders on Saturday. "All four are close, but all four are out," Pochettino is quoted as saying on Tottenham's official site.

The Etihad Stadium outfit did a double on Spurs last season, and the Argentine is keen to take the fight to City this time around. He is confident that his team are capable of standing toe-to-toe with Manuel Pellegrini's side. "Yes, this is important, our mentality to compete in this game," the Spurs boss added, as quoted on Tottenham's official site.

"It's true they have great players but we are a team with quality as well and we can play face-to-face against them. Our mentality is important and we need to show that we can compete and try to win the game. City have made a good start and this is an important game for us. We are ready for this game," the Argentine manager added.