When Tottenham Hotspur plays Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, there’s always drama. Spurs were victorious in Manchester two seasons prior when Harry Kane’s dramatic header sealed a 3-2 victory. However, the previous season, Spurs gave up a two-goal lead in the same fixture after a superb second-half comeback from the triple champions.

It was an easy choice for the head coach to insert the Mali international in place of his colleague, Rodrigo Bentancur, who had suffered an ankle ligament damage in the previous game against Aston Villa. After a dismal first year in N17, Bissouma was outstanding for Spurs in the first few weeks of the season and gradually returned to his previous level of play at Brighton & Hove Albion. However, of late, his play has declined.
Spurs have not seen the best of the 27-year-old since before his red card in the 1-0 victory over Luton Town at the start of October, which may have been influenced by the one-match ban that has been hanging over his head for quite some time.When asked about his player’s form, which has been inconsistent since his dismissal at Kenilworth Road, Postecoglou said that “disruption” might have had some influence. He made this statement during his pre-match news conference previewing the Man City encounter.

Additionally, the manager stated that Bissouma must “maintain becoming a real important part of our team” and that he must possess “that discipline and focus”. Alongside Giovani Lo Celso and Kulusevski in a midfield three, the former Lille player was once again far from his best.

In his pitch time, Bissouma appeared to be off the game’s pace and played sloppily.He gave lost possession of the ball in crucial parts of the pitch twice in the first half, and after the break Jack Grealish gave City the lead again.

The Spaniard robbed him of the ball and got City moving as Grealish tapped home 12 minutes after Lo Celso had restored parity, despite having Haaland, Rico Lewis, and Rodri surrounding him as he attempted to spin away from danger. After contributing to their third goal of the evening, Bissouma’s expression said it all—he put his head in his hands.

As he played defence and made several clearances and recoveries, Bissouma’s stats weren’t particularly impressive—he lost six of his nine duels and only made one of his three dribble attempts count. Having not played for Tottenham in three weeks, the player’s lack of game experience may have contributed to his underwhelming performance in Manchester on Sunday night.

Actually, since the first two months of the season, Postecoglou and Tottenham haven’t seen their greatest player, and the manager now needs to figure out how to get that out of his midfielder once more. Tottenham’s schedule is now expected to speed up as we approach the hectic holiday season, so a run in the team without suspension concerns could be crucial to changing his form.

Despite Bentancur’s loss, Bissouma might not be the lock that he was at the beginning of the season.Postecoglou presently has Lo Celso and Kulusevski flourishing as part of his midfield three, and the two most obviously deserve to start against West Ham on Thursday night. Pape Matar Sarr should be back in action by the end of the week.Spurs could definitely use Bissouma finding his old form again, since he showed it every week throughout the first two months of the season. The team is struggling to find a way to turn things around after suffering multiple injuries. Postecoglou will have some midfield on his hands if the Mali international is able to accomplish that, even without players like Bentancur and James Maddison.