Man City vs Tottenham - Both sides look to recover from derby day disappointment as Guardiola's men hope to close the gap on Arsenal

Manchester City and Tottenham hope to recover from damaging defeats when they face off at the Etihad in a game with huge consequences in the title race and the battle for top four.

Antonio Conte's side are on the outside looking in at the Champions League spots, while Pep Guardiola's champions are losing ground to leaders Arsenal at the summit.

Will Man City bounce back with a statement win over Spurs? Or will Tottenham do their north London rivals a favour with a shock victory? 

Will Man City or Spurs recover from derby day disappointment?

Both sides come into Thursday evening's clash off the back of damaging defeats in their respective derbies.

Man City took the lead at Old Trafford in the second half, but conceded twice late on to suffer a 2-1 loss to rivals Man United on Saturday.

And Sunday saw Tottenham produce a listless performance at home to Arsenal, falling to 2-0 defeat to their north London rivals.

Now, both teams need to brush derby day pain off for different reasons and get much-needed results to get themselves back on track.

Pep Guardiola's side can close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to five points with a victory over Tottenham and play before the Gunners again on Sunday when they host Wolves at the Etihad.

Win both and they'll be within two points - albeit having played a game more - of Arsenal, who face Man City's conquerors Man United later that Sunday afternoon.

For Spurs, a win would propel them back into the race for the top four where they've fallen off in recent weeks. An unintended consequence, however, would be doing their north London rivals Arsenal a big favour.

Who will strike the opening blow in first of two battles in 18 days? 

In a quirk of the re-arranged fixture list, Thursday's match will be the first of two Premier League meetings between these two in a matter of weeks.

Man City hold a poor recent record against Tottenham, with two wins and four defeats in seven, and will be wary of a double-header against the closest thing they have to a bogey team.

These next 18 days could therefore be a defining period for the champions' chances of retaining the Premier League title this season.

Conte will take heart from Tottenham doing the double over the eventual league winners last season.

Son Heung-min scored the only goal of the game on the opening day in London, before Tottenham came out on top in a 3-2 thriller at the Etihad in February of last year.

That match saw Spurs pegged back to 2-2 in the 92nd minute by Riyad Mahrez's leveller, before City's summer target Harry Kane scored an even later goal, his second of the night, to claim a dramatic win.

Anything like a repeat of that drama at the Etihad and the neutrals will be in for a thriller in the first instalment of Man City vs Tottenham.

Could this game hand Arsenal the Premier League title? 

Eight points behind with almost half the season gone, Man City are falling further and further back in the race for this season's Premier League title.

It means Man City can ill afford any more slip-ups, something Guardiola recognised in his post-match interview after his side's weekend defeat.

"I don't care about even the Premier League," was Guardiola's verdict after the loss, with the Spaniard suggesting he just wants his side to play well in their remaining fixtures.

Tottenham supporters, after being humbled by Arsenal at their own place on Sunday, will hardly be in the mood to do their rivals any favours.

But with their top-four hopes slipping away with each passing week and question marks over the future of their manager, Spurs can hardly afford to roll over when they head to east Manchester.

Conte praised his team's display and character despite the loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the Italian knows he needs results - and now - if the north Londoners will return to Europe's top table next season.