THE hype surrounding Tottenham is understandable.

This London club won the Europa League in their final act of last season under Ange Postecoglou, and then came close to defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, Italy, last week.

Under Thomas Frank, they put on a gutsy performance before coming up short against the Champions League winners on penalties.

In their opening fixture of the new league season, they again gave new manager Frank reason to remain upbeat, weighing in with a comfortable victory over Burnley.

But if Spurs ever wanted to find out just where they stand in this campaign, under a new manager and with a few telling transfers – they’ll find no better test than today’s clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s Citizens were nowhere near their best last season, finishing without a piece of silverware for the first time in eight years.

They made a handful of signings in January and this transfer window – quality ones, you’d have to say – and now look every bit like champions again.

They thrashed hapless Wolves 4-0 last weekend, and it might have been by a bigger margin on another day. Either way, they look like the real deal again, and that will have gotten the rest of the league to sit up and take notice – including the primary contenders.

Tottenham would like to think of themselves in that elite clique. But, just like Man United, they are not.

Spurs might be a big, rich club with a huge following, but they’re not good enough to challenge for the Premier League title – not yet, anyway.

Against City, they will almost surely find this out first-hand.

That is, of course, if they can thwart the advances of the home team.

Tottenham will want to keep an eye on Erling Haaland. The tall Norwegian centre-forward looks to be back to his scary best, whipping in two goals for good measure last weekend.

If there are flaws in Guardiola’s side, it’s that they’ve occasionally found themselves exposed at the back.

A top-six outfit could take advantage of those shortcomings, and it will be interesting to see how Tottenham handle themselves in those situations, and in their overall visit to the blue half of Manchester.

Leeds United, back in the Premiership through promotion last season, find themselves in a similar position to Spurs.

They topped the Championship Division last season with a 100-point tally and got off to a fancy start, edging out Everton for the win on Monday night.

But against Arsenal, who also made a strong start, Daniel Farke’s team face a taller task, though not one they cannot overcome.

Anton Stach, who did a good job controlling the midfield with purpose, will be expected to chip in again with noteworthy contributions. So too will Gabriel Gudmundsson, who impressed on his competitive debut at left-back last weekend, and Wilfried Gnonto who thrived as a threat down the flank.

Arsenal, though, won’t take things lying down. They showed formidable character in their triumph over Man United at Old Trafford last weekend, even though they didn’t play their best.

Like the others, their new players need a bit more bedding in before they fire on all cylinders.

But in the meantime, they’ll do well to just keep winning – something Spurs and Leeds would be well pleased to do against title contenders.

Man United, wounded by the defeat at the hands of the Gunners, should bounce back against Fulham.

Ruben Amorim, with more than £200mil worth of new signings in his squad, saw his charges do well against Arsenal but just couldn’t score – and for that, they paid dearly.

They’ll be keen to right the wrongs and get off the mark with points this weekend, lest they begin to wonder if anything at all will change this season.