Few sports can compete with football on a pure entertainment level, whether that's thanks to the world-class players that dazzle fans on a weekly basis, the masterful managers constantly redefining the game or the intense rivalries that can be found across the country.
Sometimes, there doesn't even need to be a rivalry between two teams for their matches to deliver thrilling encounters, and a great example is the games between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
These two sides have produced some brilliant spectacles in the past, and with their upcoming contest in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of the ten best games between the two sides.
10 Spurs keep title hopes alive with first win at the Etihad in six years
Premier League, 2016, City 1-2 Spurs
Kelechi Iheanacho 74'
Harry Kane 53' Penalty
Christian Eriksen 83'
Right, so a lot of the games on this list will be in seasons in which City were fighting it out for the Premier League title, but in our first entry, it is Tottenham who came into a game with their sights firmly set on the biggest prize in England.
The Lilywhites knew that they would move within two points of first place Leicester City should they win their first game at the Etihad in over six years, which is precisely what they did, thanks to a mistake from City great Yaya Toure.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 53rd minute thanks to a Harry Kane penalty, but they would be pegged back just 21 minutes later thanks to a goal from Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho.
However, in the 83rd minute, Toure lost the ball to Erik Lamela in midfield, who passed it to Christian Eriksen, with the Dane finishing calmly past Joe Hart in goal.
The north Londoners may have eventually finished third behind Arsenal and the Foxes, but this result felt seismic at the time.
9 Kane breaks longstanding record and dents City's title hopes
Premier League, 2023, Spurs 1-0 City
Harry Kane 15'
The game between Spurs and City in February 2023 was an odd one for a couple of reasons. First, it had come just two weeks after the reverse fixture – we'll get onto that game later – and second, there were just as many Arsenal fans cheering on the Lilywhites as Tottenham fans.
The reason why their north London rivals were hoping they would win was that the Gunners had just lost to Everton and were in an incredibly tense title race with Pep Guardiola's City, meaning that any points the men in blue dropped – even against Spurs – were cheered by Arsenal fans.
That said, the Lilywhites had their own objectives to worry about, so they treated the game as if it were any other, and rightly so.
The most significant thing to come out of the game was Harry Kane's goal in the 15th minute, as it made him the outright all-time top goalscorer in the club's history, overtaking the late great Jimmy Greaves.
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Spurs' win was made all the more impressive as they had to spend the last ten minutes with just ten men on the pitch following a red card to Christian Romero – what a surprise.
8 Spurs put four past City for the first time in over half a century
Premier League, 2015, Spurs 4-1 City
Eric Dier 45'
Kevin De Bruyne 25'
Toby Alderweireld 50'
Harry Kane 61'
Érik Lamela 79'
While City had racked up some pretty hefty wins over their north London opponents in the last decade or so, it would take roughly 52 years for Spurs to rack up four or more goals against their northern opponents in a league game following their 4-2 Division One win in 1962.
That game came in the 2015/16 season – City's final season before Pep took the reigns – and signalled the start of Tottenham's title challenge.
The visitors actually opened the scoring through Kevin De Bruyne in the 25th minute, but a young Eric Dier rifled in the equaliser on the cusp of halftime.
The second half was all Spurs, and goals from Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane and Erik Lamela sealed the deal for the home side and gave them a memorable win over City.
Interestingly, Kane's goal in this game was his first in 748 minutes of Premier League football and as absurd as it sounds today, pundits were questioning his quality at the time.
7 Edin Dzeko scores four as City run rampant
Premier League, 2011, Spurs 1-5 City
Younès Kaboul 68'
Edin Džeko 34'
Edin Džeko 41'
Edin Džeko 55'
Sergio Agüero 60'
Edin Džeko 90'
After three Tottenham victories in a row, we have finally reached our first City win on this list, and as wins go, this was a pretty emphatic one.
After winning their first trophy in 35 years a few months prior in the FA Cup and coming third in the league the previous season, City were aiming to win the biggest prize in England this year: the Premier League.
On the other hand, Spurs were just looking to improve upon their fifth-placed finish in the 2010/11 season and break into the top four.
However, with how the game played out, you would have thought Tottenham were relegation candidates, as once Edin Dzeko opened the scoring for City in the 34th minute, it was all over.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina striker would find the back of the net three more times, while Sergio Aguero would also join in on the fun.
The only thing the home fans had to cheer was a consolation goal from Younes Kaboul in the 68th minute.
6 Jesus Navas gets City off to a flying start
Premier League, 2013, City 6-0, Spurs
Jesús Navas 1'
Sandro 34' OG
Sergio Agüero 41'
Sergio Agüero 50'
Álvaro Negredo 55'
Jesús Navas 90'
It's back-to-back hammerings we're afraid Spurs fans, as City managed to put six past the Lilywhites to no reply in November 2013.
What makes this scoreline so memorable, well aside from the size of it, is that Jesus Navas opened the scoring for the home side after just 13 seconds, which must've completely ruined any pre-match preparations by Andre Villas-Boas.
Things only got worse when Sandro put the ball into the back of his own net to double City's score in the 34th minute before two goals from Aguero, one from Alvaro Negredo, and a second from Navas sealed the win.
5 City comeback from two down to keep title hopes alive
Premier League, 2023, City 4-2 Spurs
Julián Alvarez 51'
Dejan Kulusevski 44'
Erling Haaland 53'
Emerson Royal 45'
Riyad Mahrez 63'
Riyad Mahrez 90'
Now, Spurs may have come away with an impressive victory in the reverse of this fixture last season, but this match at the Etihad was one of their worst displays in a season littered with poor performances.
You may think that losing 4-2 at the Etihad isn't the worst result in the world, and you'd be correct, but to go in 2-0 up at halftime and then lose by that margin is a pretty spectacular capitulation.
Tottenham's goals came courtesy of Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal right on the cusp of halftime, which should have been a devastating blow against a City side that was chasing Arsenal in the league.
However, City, being the relentless machine that they are, came out flying in the second 45 and found themselves in front within just 18 minutes.
Antonio Conte's side tried to salvage a point, but a fourth goal from Riyad Mahrez in the 90th minute secured all three points for Pep's men.
4 Harry Kane's last minute winner dents City's title hopes
Premier League, 2022, Man City 2-3 Spurs
Ilkay Gündogan 33'
Dejan Kulusevski 4'
Riyad Mahrez 90' Penalty
Harry Kane 59'
Harry Kane 90'
The last entry might have brought back some sore memories for the Tottenham inclined among you, but the match just 11 months prior remains one of the club's best results in recent years.
Spurs travelled to the Etihad in February 2022 down in seventh place, and with most pundits not giving them even the faintest of chances against a City side who were top of the table, it would take just four minutes for Kulusevski to give the underdogs the lead.
The hosts did pull level in the 33rd minute thanks to a goal from Ilkay Gundogan, but Kane restored Tottenham's lead in the 59th minute to put his side within touching distance of a brilliant win.
However, when Mahrez scored a 90th-minute penalty from a Romero handball, it looked like the visitors would have to hold on for just a point until Kane did what he does best: score.
A 95th-minute winner from the England captain sent the away end potty and secured the most dramatic of wins for his team, a victory that reinvigorated the side and helped them finish in the top four – ahead of Arsenal.
3 Penalty mayhem sees City claim three points
Premier League 2014, City 4-1 Spurs
Sergio Agüero 13'
Christian Eriksen 15'
Sergio Agüero 20' Penalty
Sergio Agüero 68' Penalty
Sergio Agüero 75'
We have reached the second game on our list in which a City player scored four goals against Tottenham, and it was only three years after Dzeko did it; what were they doing in training back then?
Yes, the Premier League game between City and Spurs in October 2014 saw Sergio Aguero put four past the Lilywhites, and it would have been five had he not missed his third penalty of the game.
In fact, the other reason that this game was so memorable was the fact that four penalties were awarded across the 90 minutes, three for City and one for Spurs, and while City put away two of their three, the Lilywhites missed their only one as Hart pulled off an instrumental save.
Had the Spaniard converted his spot kick, the game could have turned out very differently, as the score was 2-1 to the home side at the time.
That said, just two minutes after the miss, debutant Federico Fazio was shown a straight red card for pulling Aguero in the box, and to make things worse, the Argentine converted the subsequent penalty to give them a 3-1 lead in the 68th minute to go with their man advantage.
It was certainly a busy game for referee Jonathan Moss, and we can only imagine how much time would've been added on nowadays with all the VAR checks.
2 City complete an unbelievable FA Cup comeback
FA Cup, 2004, Spurs 3-4 City
Ledley King 2'
Sylvain Distin 48'
Robbie Keane 19'
Paul Bosvelt 61'
Christian Ziege 43'
Shaun Wright-Phillips 80'
Jon Macken 90'
Our runner-up for the best game between City and Spurs is the first FA Cup match to feature on this list, and it is one of the best replays of all time.
The first game took place in Manchester and ended in a 1-1 draw, which at the time was disappointing for City, not because they expected to win, but because a home tie was seen as their best opportunity to win, as they were certainly not the favourites back then.
This was immediately apparent in the replay when Ledly King opened the scoring in just the second minute, followed by a Robbie Keane goal in the 19th minute and Christian Ziege's goal in the 43rd minute.
To make things worse, Joey Barton did what Joey Barton does and was sent off for dissent in the 45th minute.
When the first half finally ended, it looked as if City's FA Cup dream ended with it, but Kevin Keegan must have given one of the best halftime talks of his life during the break as his side came out flying in the second 45.
It took just three minutes for Sylvain Distin to pull one back for the visitors before Paul Bosvelt added another 13 minutes later, and then, in the 80th minute, Shaun Wright-Phillips levelled the score and silenced White Hart Lane.
Somehow, someway, City had pulled themselves back into the match and were now firmly in the ascendency.
With mere seconds on the clock remaining, Michael Tarnat fired a cross into the Spurs box, reaching the head of Manchester-born Jon Macken, who headed in the winner to secure the most unlikely comeback win.
1 VAR drama sends City out of the Champions League
Champions League, 2019, City 4-3 Spurs
Raheem Sterling 4'
Son Heung-min 7'
Bernardo Silva 11'
Son Heung-min 10'
Raheem Sterling 21'
Fernando Llorente 73'
Sergio Agüero 59'
Here we are, the final entry on our list, and let's be honest, it couldn't have been any other game.
The second leg of Manchester City and Tottenham's 2019 Champions League quarter-final has to go down as one of the all-time great games from Europe's most storied competition.
The game had everything you could want from a European knockout match, and while it probably still haunts some City fans, we're sure that even they admit that it was an almighty spectacle of a football match.
The first leg had somewhat surprisingly finished 1-0 to Tottenham, despite most fans and pundits having City down as clear favourites.
The game at the Etihad opened blisteringly, with Raheem Sterling opening the scoring in the fourth minute before Son Heugn-min replied in the seventh and tenth minute to give the Lilywhites the lead.
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However, that lead lasted precisely 60 seconds, as Bernardo Silva fired his team level in the 11th minute before Sterling got his second to tie the aggregate scores at 3-3.
Agüero added a fourth for his side in the 59th minute and gave them the lead in the overall tie, but then Spanish striker Fernando Llorente once again levelled the score with a controversial goal in the 73rd minute.
We say controversial as it looked like he had handled the ball when it came off his hip in the build-up, but we'll let you be the judge of that.
So, with the score 4-3 on the night, Spurs were set to progress thanks to the away goals rule, but there would be one more piece of drama as Sterling scored his third goal of the night in the 93rd minute to send City through – or at least he thought he had.
While Pep was running up and down the sidelines and the fans were going crazy, VAR were checking whether Aguero was offside when he passed Sterling the ball, and lo and behold, he was.
The Etihad went from pure Euphoria to stunned silence within a second, well apart from the away end, who were now going crazy themselves. It was the most extraordinary City vs Spurs game we have ever seen.