Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is one of the shrewdest footballing brains – not just in the Premier League but also in world football at the moment. So, when he says something, it only means there is so much footballing sense!

Ahead of the game against Man City, the Argentine has said that Manchester City are the best team in the Premier League as well as in Europe right now.

That is a sensational claim! City being on top of England is no fluke because they are in the best of forms so far, dropping only two points in the league. They have been scoring goals for fun and the recent derby win over Manchester United has increased their lead at the top to 11 points. That’s almost unassailable in any league, let alone English Premier League.

City are on a run of 15 consecutive league victories and look destined to win the Premier League title, even though we are just into December. Titles are won in May, but City look good to win it even before that!

Spurs prepare to take on City this weekend and we trail the league leaders by a massive 18 points. Pochettino sees his side as the underdogs ahead of this fixture and is all praise for his counterpart Pep Guardiola’s side.

“They [Manchester City] are showing that they are not only the best in England but in Europe too with the Champions League,” Pochettino was quoted by Daily Star.

“They are playing so well and deserve all the praise. It will be so tough. I think Manchester City deserve all the credit for what they are doing.”

Is Pochettino playing mind games? I understand the manager’s view when he says that City are one of the best in Europe. They are strong favourites to go deep in this season’s continental tournament and don’t be surprised if they go on to win the Champions League too!

However, what Pochettino said must be seen in the context of the game. I feel that the manager is trying to lower the expectations of the supporters who want to see better results against top teams.

Unlike last year where we were competitive against top sides, this season has been a bit of up and down. Pochettino knows that subduing the expectations would work in his favour, even if we lose to City. Nevertheless, I am not ready to settle for anything less than a victory because this is football and anybody can beat anybody on any given day.