host this afternoon in a crucial game in north London.
Spurs will be looking to put a dent in Manchester City’s title challenge by claiming the three points for their own battle to finish in the top four and secure football for next season.
Facing Manchester City in any situation is a daunting task – one which has been complicated further by the fact will miss the game and will not manage the team from the touchline.
Here is the reason why.
Why is Antonio Conte not managing Tottenham against Manchester City?
Conte will not be present at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after undergoing surgery earlier in the week.
The club that the Italian was due to have his gallbladder removed after being taken ill with ‘severe abdominal pain’, which was diagnosed as cholecystitis.
Conte, 53, said on his Instagram stories: ‘Thank you for your lovely messages, my surgery has gone well and I’m already feeling better.
‘Now’s time to recover, I can’t wait to get back on the field with the team.’
Conte, who originally believed his illness was due to a bout of flu, is recuperating back home in Italy with his family.
Training in the week was overseen by assistant manager Cristian Stellini, who will pick the team for the Manchester City game in conjunction with Conte.
Stellini conducted the pre-match media duties and will manage Tottenham from the touchline this afternoon in Conte’s absence.
A date for Conte’s return to first team duties has not yet be revealed, with Tottenham next in action against Leicester on Saturday, February 11.
Who is Cristian Stellini?
Stellini joined Tottenham as assistant manager when Conte was appointed in November 2021.
The 48 year-old Italian has become a familiar face to Spurs fans, having appeared in front of the cameras on media duties during earlier rounds of the and .
This is also not the first time he has taken charge of Tottenham this season – Stellini led the team to victory in the crucial Champions League group stage win over Marseille after Conte was forced to miss the game in France through suspension.
Stellini worked alongside Conte for a year at Juventus between 2011 and 2012, before later embarking on a brief and unsuccessful spell as a manager in the third tier of Italian football.
Stellini did not follow Conte to in 2016, but the two were reunited at Inter Milan in 2019, helping the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto in 2021.
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