Perhaps it was inevitable that one of the defining moments of Jose Mourinho's first year at Tottenham involved Pep Guardiola. 

Spurs' last meeting with Manchester City ended in a 2-0 triumph, not only against the odds but also the run of play. 

On paper, Guardiola's men dominated at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in February.

They were simply not clinical enough, failing to convert any of their 19 attempts. Only six of those were on target. 

Yet it makes it difficult to predict how things will plan out when these two eternal managerial rivals face off again, with their respective sides seemingly on very different trajectories this season. 

Guardiola, who signed a new contract earlier this week, will be hoping for some respite in attack with the possible return of Raheem Sterling. 

Mourinho had upped the ante by raising questions over whether the forward's injury, which caused him to withdraw from England duty, was legitimate, telling a press conference: "Of course we all know Sterling will play tomorrow."

'Mourinho maybe is a doctor' 

However, Guardiola has since used his own presser to hit back at those claims. 

"Mourinho has to go to the doctors for the national team from England and from Manchester City," he said. 

"He has to go to the doctors - except if Mourinho maybe is a doctor. I don't know. Listen, I'm not going to answer anything about Jose.

"I said about the doctor because he accused something we have done which is not true, so he has to speak with doctors about all these other things.

"Don't ask me because I'm almost 50, so I'm old enough to understand."

Mourinho was irked by Harry Kane playing all but 14 minutes of England's Nations League double-header, even in the dead rubber match against Iceland when they had already been knocked out. 

Sterling, on the other hand, was the latest player to spark a club over country row. 

City must now decide whether the 25-year-old is fit to start against Spurs, but they will be wary of Mourinho's response if that is the case.