On this occasion, hosting Man City looms large for the Lilywhites, who could, if results elsewhere also don't go their way, end the weekend as low as 16th in the Premier League and potentially be just five points from the bottom three.
Below-par Tottenham becoming a theme
Arguably, the North Londoners have brought that pressure upon themselves after a series of below-par performances in the English top-flight.
Their domestic form can't be compared to how they've done in the Champions League this season, though. Their final-day win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the league phase took them straight through to the round of 16 after finishing in fourth position.
Indeed, that win and one other over Borussia Dortmund were sandwiched around a 2-1 home loss to London rivals, West Ham, and a 2-2 draw with another of this season's relegation candidates in Burnley.
They'll face a City side that is now just four points behind Arsenal at the top of the table, after the Gunners were surprisingly beaten last time out against a resurgent Man Utd side.
400 wins for Guardiola in record time
Pep Guardiola's squad always seems to come into its own in the new year, too, so Spurs are definitely going to have their work cut out in order to spring a surprise result that actually isn't beyond them.
Given that Guardiola earned his 400th win as City manager (569 games) in all competitions with his side's 2-0 win over Galatasaray, it's clear that the Catalan is in the groove again ahead of the business end of the campaign when the juggernaut really does take some stopping.
To put his incredible record into some sort of context too, he has now won 180 more games at Man City than any other manager of the club, including the great Les McDowall (1950-1963), and also got to 400 victories in over 100 games less than Arsene Wenger (696), and almost 200 less than Sir Alex Ferguson (732).
His imprint has long been all over the Cityzens, and that's perhaps something that their Spurs counterparts in the boardroom could learn from.
Knee-jerk reactions from the Tottenham board?
Frank, at present, merely seems the latest whipping boy in the dugout after Ange Postecoglou, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte et al, because building a dynasty takes a little more than knee-jerk managerial changes every few seasons.
Tottenham are winless in their last five Premier League games, drawing three and losing two, and it's a fourth run of five or more winless games for them in the past two seasons.
When you consider that Spurs only had four runs of five or more winless matches across the 12 previous campaigns combined (2012/13 to 2023/24), it puts their current run of form into sharper focus.
What's interesting is that playing these games at the Etihad Stadium is where the North Londoners come alive, because 14 of their last 15 goals against City have come there and not at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where their home form has been a problem more generally this season.
It might be surprising to learn, too, that Guardiola has lost more league games against Tottenham (eight) than any other opponent in his managerial career.
Corners remain a weapon for Lilywhites
In terms of the historic head-to-head record, both teams have 69 wins with 37 draws, whilst Spurs have won 30 of the 57 meetings in the Premier League era, and City are lagging behind with 19 victories.
The 253 shots at goal from Tottenham are just the 14th most in the division this season, so Frank may continue to rely on set-piece delivery, where Spurs are particularly potent, having netted 12 times from corners this season.
They've also scored 10 headers, which puts them ahead of North London rivals Arsenal as the team with the most headed goals in 2025/26.
With 13 different scorers to date, only Brighton has more players on the scoresheet, though the Seagulls and Lilywhites are neck and neck on the yellow card count, with both receiving 58 collectively to date.
Both clubs are struggling with injuries
Injuries are almost certain to play a part in proceedings too, with Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison all missing for the hosts.
Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and John Stones won't play any part for the visitors, along with Mateo Kovacic and Savinho, with Jeremy Doku likely to face a late fitness test to determine whether he should be risked or not.
Oscar Bobb won't be involved either, after his transfer to Fulham. Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi should keep their places, with Erling Haaland expected to add to just the one goal that he's scored in his last six games in all competitions.
