Key events
Tottenham-Brentford: the teams
Tottenham: Vicar; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Skipp, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Werner; Richarlison.
Substitutes: Forster, Højbjerg, Dragusin, Gil, Emerson, Johnson, Davies, Scarlett, Donley.
Brentford: Flekken; Collins, Pinnock, Mee, Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Lewis-Potter, Maupay, Toney.
Substitutes: Strakosha, Fredrick, Dasilva, Jorgensen, Ajer, Damsgaard, Baptiste, Yarmolyuk, Brierley.
Man City-Burnley teams: Haaland on the bench
Erling Haaland is back in the team's squad, but only on the bench, as Júlian Álvarez starts up front and Kevin De Bruyne makes his first start since returning from injury. Burnley make one change from the 1-1 draw against Luton on January 12: Sander Berge replaces Josh Cullen in midfield.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Aké, Gvardiol; Rodri, Matheus Nunes; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Alvarez.
Substitutes: Ortega, Walker, Días, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Gómez, Grealish, Haaland, Bobb.
Burnley (4-4-2): Trafford; Vitinho, O'Shea, Ekdal, Al Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Berge, Brownhill, Odobert; Foster, Amdouni.
Substitutes: Muric, Fofana, Cork, Roberts, Zaroury, Ramsey, Cullen, Bruun Larsen, Massengo.
Preamble
This week's excess of first division The matches are reverse matches of the opening day in a distant, sunny August, so they offer us the opportunity to take stock of the teams' campaigns so far.
Manchester City started the season in ominous fashion, winning 3-0 at Burnley; The problem for Pep Guardiola is that it was also the last time Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were on the pitch together. Both could feature tonight and with a run of winnable games ahead for City, it's bad news for everyone else.
For Burnley, that was the first puncture in a preseason balloon of hope that quickly deflated. Vincent Kompany's side have collected 12 points from 20 games since then, but a shock victory tonight at the ground where he has a statue outside could fuel an unlikely escape bid.
The vibes at Tottenham remain positive, with Ange Postecoglou guiding the team towards the top four. After starting 2-2 at Brentford, Spurs won eight of their next nine games, but followed that up with four wins in their last 11 league games.
Expectations coming true or a worrying downward trend? Tonight's game will offer us clues. Thomas Frank's busy Bees have lost their sting by sliding down the table, but Ivan Toney is back and presumably eager to make an impact against a club who could still buy him tomorrow.
We'll also keep an eye on Liverpool v Chelsea, which Scott Murray covers separately, and review La Liga, the Women's Champions League and the EFL Championship. Stay tuned!