Saturday 14 April 2018 20:01, UK
Tottenham are the ideal opponents for Manchester City after what has been a tumultuous past 10 days for the club, says captain Vincent Kompany.
City were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Liverpool in midweek, with a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Etihad last weekend sandwiched in between.
City's defeat to United cost Pep Guardiola's side the opportunity to win the title by beating their rivals, but Kompany is focused on this weekend's trip to Wembley to face Tottenham, live on Sky Sports, which he believes will bring the best out of his team.
"Spurs is similar to the Liverpool team that has hurt us," Kompany said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
"But in a way, we want to face those teams. As much as we have had difficult games, at the same time we have had our best games against these teams.
"So it can go both ways, the margins are so small, a team scoring three goals in a batch, our team scoring three goals in a batch. The margins are very small.
"Besides, you have to remember that against United, we scored two in two minutes or something. Why it happens in a moment like this, I do not know.
"But as long as it happens for us on Saturday, I will be happy!"
Manchester City will win a third Premier League title if they beat both Spurs and then Swansea City at home on April 22, but their skipper wants them to do it in the same style they have exhibited all season, starting at Wembley.
"I have been part of very successful City teams, but it was never at the end of a dominant season that we were able to win a title," Kompany said.
Defeat in the Champions League will give us so much more motivation to get back and have the same level for next season
"Now we are not champions yet, but I would like to see it happen in the same fashion in the next few weeks as we have done all season. And that would be a first in my case.
"This club has never stopped progressing, I do not think I need to say that, but even a defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals might seem like an incredible disappointment in this moment of time.
"But I have seen us play in a very, very good way and I have seen us play against a team that has always been difficult for us traditionally, not just this year.
"So there is nothing for me to be worried about the progress that this club is making, that this team is making, that this manager is making with the team.
"And therefore I am confident, because the signs are there. It is not just me wanting to build some sort of image about us. You can sense it, you can feel it."
The 32-year-old is confident the champions elect will now bounce back from recent events in a positive way as they look to close out the league.
"I do think that we are always looking to respond in that way on the pitch," Kompany said. "It is the best way to do it.
"The past is the past, we have won a lot of games, but in many ways it is a mini season now until the end to achieve the targets we have and set us up for the next season as well.
"I am sure that even a defeat in the Champions League will give us so much more motivation to get back and have the same level for next season. And that is key to me."
Watch the full interview with Vincent Kompany ahead of Spurs v Man City from 7.30pm on Saturday on Sky Sports Premier League
